New studies suggest Parkinson’s disease may begin in the gut

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder that causes tremors, limb stiffness, balance problems, anxiety and depression.

It’s estimated nearly 90,000 people are diagnosed with it each year and up to 10 million people are living with it worldwide.

Nobody knows what causes it, but new studies suggest it may begin in the gut and spread to the brain.

“My grandmother on my mother’s side lived to be 102. She never had it. My aunts on my dad’s side lived to be in their late eighties. They didn’t have it,” said Gregory Monroe Jr.

Nobody in Monroe’s family had Parkinson’s. In fact, for most of his life, he didn’t know what it was, but at age 40, he was at work when he noticed his hand shaking.

“I was working for overnight security, and I was telling the guest that his music was too loud, and my hand started to tremor,” he said.

Nobody knows what causes it, but Duke University gastroenterologist Rodger Liddle is looking into how the gut-brain connection may play a role.

“It’s recently been discovered that there are specific cells in the lining of the gut that connect to the vagus nerve and send signals to the brain,” Liddle said.

Now, Liddle’s team is taking it a step further, looking specifically at enteroendocrine cells found in the gut.

“Our laboratory discovered that these enteroendocrine cells contain a protein that’s involved in Parkinson’s disease,” Liddle said.

When the protein malfunctions, it clumps together and spreads from cell to cell. These clumps are called Lewy Bodies and are a major sign of Parkinson’s disease.

Liddle hopes what they are learning will help to stop Parkinson’s before tremors or other symptoms begin.

Other investigators across the country are conducting studies to find ways to intercept the gut-brain connection in hopes of preventing Parkinson’s disease altogether.