From reducing inflammation and improving immunity to preventing certain diseases, good gut health is essential for overall well-being. Researchers have found more evidence of the link, as a recent study reveals that certain gut conditions could be early warning signs of Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that affects the brain and the central nervous system and causes uncontrollable movements such as shaking, stiffness and loss of balance. It is estimated that around 90,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with the debilitating condition every year and more than 10 million people worldwide suffer from it. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for it.
Earlier studies have linked brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular diseases to gut disorders. Then in the new study published in the BMJ journal, researchers tested Braak’s hypothesis, which states that the origin of Parkinson’s disease is in the gastrointestinal tract.
The findings of the study indicate that digestive issues such as constipation, gastroparesis (improper stomach emptying), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) without diarrhea can increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
To test the hypothesis, the researchers used data from the U.S. nationwide medical record network (TriNetX). The team compared the records of 24,624 people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease without a known cause to those of people diagnosed with other neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular disease and people without any of these conditions. The researchers evaluated the frequency of gut conditions in all these groups.
The hypothesis was further tested differently by dividing all the adults in the network with gut conditions into separate groups. Participants within these groups were paired with those who did not have any specific gut condition. Using medical records, they were closely observed for five years and…
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