New Link Found Between Your Gut and Your Brain

We are one step closer to figuring out why some people are affected by Parkinson’s disease. There’s been new research from Caltech demonstrating that there may be a link between the bacteria in your gut and brain disease. The vagus nerve runs from the gut to the brain and could be the highway the disease rides on.

The makeup of a person’s intestinal bacteria is what allows alpha synuclein, the protein involved in Parkinson’s, to cause destruction of neurons. Now researchers can focus on finding the specific bacteria involved and how to prevent them from causing symptoms of Parkinson disease.

– Dr. Elizabeth Budman, Neurology Center of New England