“Microbiota and Parkinson’s Disease: New Discoveries and Ways to Prevent the Pathology”

2023-05-07 13:00:00

In France, more than 167,000 people have Parkinson’s disease, according to theNational Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). This slow and progressive neurodegenerative pathology is characterized by three main motor symptoms: lakinesia (when the individual feels a slowness in the implementation and coordination of his movements) hypertonia (abnormal rigidity of the muscles), tremors which mainly concern the hands and arms.

According to Inserm, a family history exists in 15% of patients and a genetic origin (linked to a single causal gene) is found in 5% of cases. But a new study, published on May 1, highlights another factor: the microbiota.

Microbiota: certain bacteria might be responsible for Parkinson’s disease

In search of possible factors of Parkinson’s disease, Finnish researchers decided to study the set of microorganisms (such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and non-pathogenic fungi) installed in the intestines of people suffering from of this pathology. Their work has been published in the journal Frontiers. Scientists believe that certain strains of intestinal bacteria, more specifically those called Desulfovibrio, would be one of the probable causes of the development of Parkinson’s disease.

“Our findings are important because the cause of Parkinson’s disease remains unknown despite attempts to identify it over the past two centuries. says Professor Per Saris, one of the authors, in a communiqué. The results indicate that specific strains of Desulfovibrio bacteria are likely to cause Parkinson’s disease. This pathology is mainly caused by environmental factors, that is, environmental exposure to Desulfovibrio bacterial strains that cause Parkinson’s disease. Only a small part [des personnes atteintes de la maladie de Parkinson]or regarding 10%, is due to individual genes.”

Parkinson : ctarget microbiota bacteria to prevent pathology

The objective of the researchers would be to be able to detect people carrying strains of Desulfovibrio bacteria in order to eliminate them from their intestine. In the long term, this intervention might make it possible to prevent the development of the disease… It would then be an important step in medical research, because until now, the treatments are not curative. They only allow to slow down the pathology.

“Our discoveries make it possible to screen for carriers of these harmful bacteria, concludes Professor Per Saris. Thus, measures aimed at eliminating these strains from the intestine [peuvent être mises en place et ainsi atténuer et ralentir] symptoms of patients with Parkinson’s disease.”

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