Neurodegenerative illnesses affect millions of people around the world. Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease are the most common neurological diseases.
Gut Enzymes Are Thought To Play A Role In Neurodegenerative Diseases
The Alzheimer’s Disease Association reports that the U.S. has 6.2 million people with Alzheimer’s disease based on a study conducted in 2021. In the United States, an estimated one million people may have Parkinson’s disease by 2030.
The loss of sensory neurons or peripheral nervous systems leads to neurodegenerative diseases. Even though there are treatment options that may alleviate some of the symptoms of neurodegenerative illnesses, there is no way to prevent them from progressing.
A neurodegenerative illness is more likely to develop as we age. Many more Americans live longer, which means more people will be affected by neurodegenerative diseases in the coming decades. To create innovative preventative health and therapeutic intervention strategies in this scenario, we must improve our understanding of the causes of neurological disorders.
Three harmful compounds manufactured by gut microbes were detected in cerebrospinal and plasma specimens taken from several sclerosis (M.S.) patients by a multi-institutional analysis group based in New York City. The study’s findings, which appeared in the journal Brain, add to researchers’ insight into how gut microbes can provoke neurodegenerative disorders by producing substances that are harmful to nerve fibers.
Researchers have previously found a disparity in the intestinal microbiota, the group of creatures living in the digestive tract, maybe at the root of many neurological disorders. In some M.S. patient populations, enhanced or drained gut bacteria have been discovered compared to those with a nutrient-controlled diet.
The interaction between these bacteria and the nervous system and how they affect neurodegenerative disorders is unclear, though. We have to look forward to the health cautions that affect our body against this type of bacteria and diseases.
Hye-Jin Park, one of several research analyst writers and a study assistant at the Accelerated Scientific Research Facility at the Graduate Center, CUNY (CUNY ASRC), says his study suggests that the gut microbes of M.S. patients generate and release large amounts of p-cresol-sulfate, indoxyl-sulfate, and N-phenylacetylglutamine into the bloodstream.
This poisonous substance bathes the central nervous system and the spinal cord once it has been absorbed, destroying the myelin sheath that covers nerves from being damaged.”
Researchers at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Northeastern New York collected blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients participating in the survey. A specimen was taken during the diagnosis of dimethyl fumarate (DMF), a medication that has a significant impact on reorganizing gut bacteria in M.S. patients.
By comparing the data from M.S. patients who were not given DMF with the data from healthy controls, researchers determined that the three toxic metabolites were abundant. They also noticed a decrease in metabolic pathways after DMF therapies.
“The higher level of such toxic compounds correlates with the frequency of genes associated with neurodegenerative conditions in M.S. patients and has been shown to damage cells cultured in the research lab permanently,” said Achilles Ntranos, a professor in Mount Sinai’s Department of Neurology and associate professor of Neurology. “The second series of M.S. patient samples were collected at Mount Sinai.
PatriziaCasaccia, director of the CUNY ASRC’s Neuroscience Initiative and lead researcher of the study, said it was an “intriguing and substantial discovery.” Besides advancing our comprehension of the part of the gastrointestinal system in neurodegenerative illness progression, this study identifies a metabolic target that might be used in the development of new M.S. therapies.”
The study was conducted by researchers affiliated with the CUNY ASRC, Northeastern New York MS Center, Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, and BERG Health.
