Parkinson's Disease And Vagus Neve: Disease Starts In Gut

Scientists are still learning about Parkinson's Disease (PD), a neurodegenerative health issue that affects movement. However, researchers at Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital believe that the health issue may start in the gut. The findings are published in the journal Annals of Neurology.

As many patients with PD also suffer from gastrointestinal issues, researchers believe that the disease may begin in the gastrointestinal tract and spread via the vagus nerve to the brain.

The current study is the first and largest epidemiological based in humans coming from a registry of almost 15,000 patients who had the vagus nerve in their stomach severed, with a research project supported by the Danish Parkinson's Disease Association and PROCRIN (Program for Clinical Research Infrastructure). Previous hypotheses regarding the relationship between Parkinson's and the vagus nerve have resulted in animal studies and cell studies in the field.

"Between approximately 1970-1995 this procedure was a very common method of ulcer treatment," postdoc at Aarhus University Elisabeth Svensson on the hypothesis behind the study, said in a news release. "If it really is correct that Parkinson's starts in the gut and spreads through the vagus nerve, then these vagotomy patients should naturally be protected against developing Parkinson's disease."

"Our study shows that patients who have had the the entire vagus nerve severed were protected against Parkinson's disease. Their risk was halved after 20 years. However, patients who had only had a small part of the vagus nerve severed where not protected. This also fits the hypothesis that the disease process is strongly dependent on a fully or partially intact vagus nerve to be able to reach and affect the brain," she added.

With future research, the study authors hope to better understand how the disease begins and how to prevent the problem.
"Now that we have found an association between the vagus nerve and the development of Parkinson's disease, it is important to carry out research into the factors that may trigger this neurological degeneration, so that we can prevent the development of the disease. To be able to do this will naturally be a major breakthrough," she concluded.

The chronic disorder is estimated to affect 1 out of every 1,000 people, with the first signs occurring between the ages of 50-60.

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