For a longitudinal followup study. The longer the better. This is the sort of study you can sink your teeth into…
Food for thought, indeed.
Dark chocolate consumption versus depressive symptoms
Well, the results aren’t conclusive, but apparently the theory is that dark chocolate contains Flavonoids and possibly activates the endocannabinoid receptors in the brain, which make folks feel good instead of angry and hostile or depressed.
And chocolate is still legal in all 50 states of the USA.
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But before we get into the articles about the gut microbiome, from 2015, a review of the various signs that predate full motor symptoms
non-motor and pre-motor symptoms of PD
Recent studies provide new insights on the frequency, pathophysiology, and importance of non-motor features in Parkinson’s disease as well as the recognition that these non-motor symptoms occur in premotor, early, and later phases of Parkinson’s disease.
This study (2017) looks at the progression of PD and problems with the bacteria in the stomach:
Progression of PD and gut dysbiosis
from the conclusions:
The total counts of intestinal bacterial decrease in the course of PD progression. Temporal profiles of lowering of bacterial counts are likely to be different from bacteria to bacteria, and also between the deteriorating and stable groups, which may be able to be exploited to differentiate patients with rapidly and slowly progressive PD pathology.
The search for biomarkers for PD goes for the gut (2018):
Gut Microbiota Dysfunction as Reliable Non-invasive Early Diagnostic Biomarkers in the Pathophysiology of Parkinson’s Disease: A Critical Review
future directions should therefore, focus on the exploration of newer investigational techniques to identify these reliable early biomarkers and define the specific gut microbes that contribute to the development of Parkinson’s disease. This ultimately should pave the way to safer and novel therapeutic approaches that avoid the complications of the drugs delivered today to the brain of Parkinson’s disease patients.
Another article on the role of gut bacteria in PD (2018): Parkinson’s disease and bacteriophages as its overlooked contributors
Our findings add bacteriophages to the list of possible factors associated with the development of PD, suggesting that gut phagobiota composition may serve as a diagnostic tool as well as a target for therapeutic intervention, which should be confirmed in further studies. Our results open a discussion on the role of environmental phages and phagobiota composition in health and disease.
A review of the relationship between the gut microbiome and PD (2018):
Microbes Tickling Your Tummy: the Importance of the Gut-Brain Axis in Parkinson’s Disease
Looking back a few years, one can hope that diet might be a way to affect the course of PD, if diet can change the gut microbiome (2014) :Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome
Long-term diet influences the structure and activity of the trillions of microorganisms residing in the human gut1–5, but it remains unclear how rapidly and reproducibly the human gut microbiome responds to short-term macronutrient change. Here, we show that the short-term consumption of diets composed entirely of animal or plant products alters microbial community structure and overwhelms inter-individual differences in microbial gene expression.
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An open access article:
Multi-disciplinary approach for rehab to improve QOL
From the abstract:
Results:Patients reported higher functional status (d=0.37,p<0.001), general self-efficacy(d=0.28,p<0.01), and quality of life (d=0.32,p<0.001) at three weeks follow-up, comparedto their baseline scores. The regression analysis showed that having a better initial functionalstatus (β=−0.26,p<0.05) and lower quality of life (β=0.51,p<0.001) were associated withmore improvements in quality of life.
Conclusion:The study suggests that actual functioning in persons with Parkinson’s diseaseis a better predictor of improved quality of life than self-efficacy beliefs and that those whohave lower levels of initial quality of life benefit more from rehabilitation.
The program was only three weeks long, but was inpatient and apparently intensive:
The multidisciplinary rehabilitation program had a duration of three weeks and was an inpatient program. Upon arrival, participants were awarded a primary contact to ensure a unified team working toward goals set by the participant him/herself. The multidisciplinary team consisted of 10 different professions, such as occupational therapists, physical therapists, doctors, neurologists, nurses, sports educators, cognitive behavioral therapists, and nutritionists. Commencing the multidisciplinary rehabilitation program, participants were assessed by the relevant professional/s and typically had close follow-up the first week with individual and group-based exercise
Here’s a sample of links to Gut Microbiota For Health’s website and some of the research articles they’ve published, mostly in the last year. One talks about the linkage between certain bacteria and motor system disorders, another about relief for constipation for Parkinson’s patients, Another is a compilation of several articles, and finally, an article that explores the gut to brain relation regarding Parkinson’s, and to top it all off, the relationship of the bacteria in your stomach to the chemicals in your brain, and how the various microbial communities communicate. Life goes on within you and without you, it would seem.
“Harm from a weeks overeating may be canceled by exercise”
That’s the limit to the good news, though. The article also reports that even occasional binging can cause problems, and a week of overeating could have a negative effect on insulin sensitivity. Exercise could protect against this metabolic damage.
For certain, a lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet have been linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome. The article is at this link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313881.php
related article “Healthy living linked to higher brain function, delay of dementia”
A diet high in vegetables and fruits leads to better cognitive functioning, and when combined with exercise, the effect is extended downwards to those who reported eating half as many vegetables.
the original research article is at http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/10/28/pubmed.fdw113
Mayo Clinic researchers found that it only takes 1 mutation in the PINK1 gene to increase the risk of early onslaught PD. Until this report, it had been thought you needed to have 2 mutated genes to make it happen. Here are links to the pages: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/313885.php or
Heterozygous PINK1 p.G411S increases risk of Parkinson’s disease via a dominant-negative mechanism
bob's brain: living well with a movement disorder and other comorbidities 