Parkinson's disease may begin in the gut
 

So how does it begin in the gut? Dysbiosis?

Much is poorly understood about the gut/brain connection.

A study in Finland found that PD patients have a very different makeup of gut bacteria. Here's a link ..

http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem...CultureCode=en

In short, entero bacteria is toxic and PD patients have tons of it, whereas the normal person does not. Also PD patients are very light on lacto bacteria, which produces lactic acid to control toxins in the gut.

I previously wrote about this issue here, including way to get your gut bacteria tested cheap .. I have not done it yet (still digesting my 23andme results!)
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread221379.html

Also, after reading up on gut bacteria I have found that parmigiano reggiano cheese (aged at least 24 months) has massive amounts of a lacto bacteria that suppresses the entero bacteria. I've been doing this cheese for about 2 weeks and my metabolism has changed a bit. I eat the cheese (very tasty BTW) before bed and in the AM I feel the urge when I get up. It must be doing something. BTW, I do NOT have constipation as a PD symptom. This is NOT Parmesan Cheese, which is a faked up version of the original and made in a number of different ways.

Anyways, I'm just writing this out of my head so I may not have the exact names of the bacteria correct .. there are tons of different strains but there you go. We are getting more and more data pointing to the gut as the source of at least one kind of PD anyway. Fight it on all fronts!

yes
 

I think this is correct. We have known for some time that Lewy Bodies have been found in the gut, and before PD symptoms appeared. Why are they there, though? A virus, bacteria, or, more likely, as the recent study showing PWP had a significantly different gut biome than non-PWP, an imbalance of good gut biome to bad. As more and more research comes out about this, I think we may really begin to understand the importance of "you are what you eat". And its corollary: you are also how much you eat:)

Will post in a few....

Can't post links until I have 10 posts.... there...

The idea that has me interested in bad gut bacteria theory is the overgrowth of candida.I'm starting a candida diet. It certainly can't hurt to try. I have eliminated sugar, simple carbs and alcohol so far. Not that I was much of a drinker but I do like a cold beer on a warm day :wink:. There are definitely accounts of pwp and a connection to the gut. The candida fight your body for good nutrients thereby allowing toxins to flourish as your body can't fight it.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17051898

I have had signs of candidiasis prior to being diagnosed. I have had Tinea Versicolor (fungus on the skin), toenail fungus and oral thrush. The oral thrush was with a really bad cold. A few years before my symptoms I had Salmonella from traveling to Mumbai. I was given antibiotics which candida loves. Who knows, was that a starting point? That was a few years prior to being diagnosed.

I'm not a huge sugar eater but I love simple carbs.

What's the connection to the brain? Maybe the vagus nerve.

/150623103609.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0623103609.htm

There are also anecdotal cases of pwp taking anti-fungal meds and doing very well until they stop. Kind of like cutting the grass with weeds and not addressing the weeds with anything, they will return.

I think the gut is at the heart of the problem. Could it be that eating too much red meat, not getting enough vitamin D, or too much gluten etc. eventually overwhelms the gut and it's ability to provide the necessary tools/vitamins/enzymes to the body/liver so it looses its ability to filter out alpha synuclein fast enough? Then, after a number of years the alpha synuclein just start to clump as if nobody is taking out the trash (picture NY City during a trash workers strike) and eventually PD rears its head!

What is the role of the gut microbiome in developing Parkinson's disease?
 

In recent years, an important Parkinson's disease (PD) research focus has been on gut-related pathology, pathophysiology, and symptoms. Gastrointestinal dysfunction, in particular constipation, affects up to 80% of PD patients and idiopathic constipation is one of the strongest risk-factors for PD. Lifestyle factors such as smoking and coffee consumption, as well as blood urate levels, have been associated with a decreased PD risk. These factors may also be influenced by the bacteria living in the human gut mediating the effects of various chemicals and nutrients on disease processes. In a contribution in the current issue of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, researchers review some of the latest studies linking gut microbiota to PD.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-0...n-disease.html

Ollie
To knock out candida QUICKLY get some caprylic acid (a supplement from coconut oil). I took two of these 3 times a day for 3 or 4 days and it blew it out. Then I stepped back to just a few more times. On day two my metabolism changed entirely, for the better in ways I don't want to describe here. PM me if you want and I'll share. I used Capryl by Solaray.

Those diets will take forever, almost literally, but you do want to eat healthy of course. I suspect that I had candida for over a decade. If you have candida, and it sounds very likely, you might want to read about what I did afterwards here ..
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread218079.html

Your experience may be very close to mine. I have almost completely "normalized" with B vitamins, which I believe that candida in my small intestine kept me from absorbing. Some bacteria actually feed off of them too. I'm still reminded that I have some form of PD, and I still tremor a fair bit under stress, but that's my main things now instead of everything else. Oh and I still have bad RLS.