"The gut-brain axis in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease" by Lanxia Meng, Xin Yuan et al.

Home > BRAIN-SCIENCE-ADVANCES > Vol. 5 (2019) > No. 2

Article Title

The gut-brain axis in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease

Authors

Lanxia Meng, Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China
Xin Yuan, Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China
Xuebing Cao, Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
Zhentao Zhang, Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China

Keywords

Parkinson’s disease, α-synuclein, gut microbiota, gut-brain axis, inflammation

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Its pathological markers include Lewy bodies and Lewy neuritis, which primarily affect the substantia nigra. However, in recent years, mounting evidence suggests that PD is a multifocal neurodegenerative process that influences several neuronal structures aside from the substantia nigra, one of which is the enteric nervous system. Many clinical studies have reported that patients with PD experience gastrointestinal dysfunction for many years before the onset of motor symptoms. Emerging evidence indicates that α-synuclein deposition may start in the enteric nervous system and then propagate to the central nervous system. The gut-brain axis plays an important role in PD pathogenesis. Recent evidence suggests that these interactions may be primarily affected by the intestinal microbiota. In this review, the authors discuss recent research, and illustrate how changes in the composition of the gut microbiota may trigger inflammation, thus contributing to neurodegeneration in PD.