Communications , he ’ s narrowing in on a few microbe families and using similar methods to reveal which precise species are the culprits .
Sampson ’ s approach comes with some caveats : Parkinson ’ s disease , after all , might be linked to multiple bacteria interacting in complex ways — so there likely won ’ t be a single smoking gun . It ’ s also not totally clear if changes in the microbiome are the root cause or if they just accelerate damage already taking place in the brain . The complexity of the microbiome is mind-boggling : There are hundreds of different types of bacteria involved , and each creates myriad molecules that affect digestion , the immune system and other important bodily functions . Sorting through all those components and identifying how they change in the face of disease will be an important next step .
And so , as tantalizing as the links between the microbiome and Parkinson ’ s may be , it could be decades before people who suffer from the disorder can reap any tangible benefits . Many of the researchers examining those links , like Mayer , also warn patients to be of wary of sweeping claims about drugs , supplements or even fecal transplants — seeding the gut with microbes from another , healthy person — that “ treat ” Parkinson ’ s by altering the microbiome .
“ A lot of people make a lot of money selling individuals supplements , telling you that they ’ re going to slow your cognitive decline or prevent Parkinson ’ s disease ,” says Mayer . But , he adds , “ we don ’ t know the causal roles of the microbiome for sure . We know it from animal studies , so we
The vagus nerve ( shown in yellow ) is a physical conduit between the gut and brain that might traffic misfolded proteins that trigger Parkinson ’ s disease , scientists suggest . CREDIT : FERNANDO DA CUNHA / SCIENCE SOURCE
have indirect evidence for it — but it ’ s been difficult to show in humans without a doubt that the microbes , and some of their signal molecules , play the main causal role .”
Until definitive answers are found , researchers like Mayer will continue to chip away at the problem , microbe by microbe .
This article was originally published in Knowable Magazine . Read the original article here .
A growing number of studies are suggesting that Parkinsons may be tied to an unlikely culprit : bacteria living inside our guts .
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