Dr. Weeks’ Comment: All chronic degenerative illnesses are driven by inflammation; cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, all psychiatric ailments (depression, psychosis, PTSD) and all chronic degenerative neurological ailments like Multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), seizure disorders like epilepsy and of course Parkinson’s disease are, at their core, inflammatory problems.
Therefore, the first and best thing for you to do is adopt the anti-inflammatory lifestyle including the anti-inflammatory diet.
Simple,
Powerful.
Best bang for your buck
Failing to remedy the inflammation will render all other treatments suboptimal.
Are you inflamed?
Check your blood test for: 1) hs-CRP, 2) ESR, 3) IL-6 and IL-84) ferritin, 5) fibrinogen
Here are some RESEARCH PAPERS to underscore this important therapeutic insight.
Cells. 2020 Jul 14;9(7):1687.
doi: 10.3390/cells9071687.
Inflammation in Parkinson’s Disease: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications
Marta Pajares 1 2, Ana I Rojo 1 2 3 4, Gina Manda 5, Lisardo Boscá 1 3 6, Antonio Cuadrado 1 2 3 4 5
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder primarily characterized by the death of dopaminergic neurons that project from the substantia nigra pars compacta. Although the molecular bases for PD development are still little defined, extensive evidence from human samples and animal models support the involvement of inflammation in onset or progression. However, the exact trigger for this response remains unclear. Here, we provide a systematic review of the cellular mediators, i.e., microglia, astroglia and endothelial cells. We also discuss the genetic and transcriptional control of inflammation in PD and the immunomodulatory role of dopamine and reactive oxygen species. Finally, we summarize the preclinical and clinical approaches targeting neuroinflammation in PD.
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Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Nov 10;21(22):8421.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21228421.
Neurodegeneration and Inflammation-An Interesting Interplay in Parkinson’s Disease
Chrysoula Marogianni 1, Maria Sokratous 1, Efthimios Dardiotis 1, Georgios M Hadjigeorgiou 2, Dimitrios Bogdanos 3, Georgia Xiromerisiou 1
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, caused by, so far, unknown pathogenetic mechanisms. There is no doubt that pro-inflammatory immune-mediated mechanisms are pivotal to the pathogenicity and progression of the disease. In this review, we highlight the binary role of microglia activation in the pathophysiology of the disorder, both neuroprotective and neuromodulatory. We present how the expression of several cytokines implicated in dopaminergic neurons (DA) degeneration could be used as biomarkers for PD. Viral infections have been studied and correlated to the disease progression, usually operating as trigger factors for the inflammatory process. The gut-brain axis and the possible contribution of the peripheral bowel inflammation to neuronal death, mainly dopaminergic neurons, seems to be a main contributor of brain neuroinflammation. The role of the immune system has also been analyzed implicating a-synuclein in the activation of innate and adaptive immunity. We also discuss therapeutic approaches concerning PD and neuroinflammation, which have been studied in experimental and in vitro models and data stemming from epidemiological studies.
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J Immunol Res. 2018 Apr 16;2018:4784268.
doi: 10.1155/2018/4784268. eCollection 2018.
Linking Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease
Géraldine Gelders 1, Veerle Baekelandt 1, Anke Van der Perren 1
Free PMC article
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) impose a pressing burden on our developed and consequently aging society. Misfolded protein aggregates are a critical aspect of several neurodegenerative diseases. Nevertheless, several questions remain unanswered regarding the role of misfolded protein aggregates and the cause of neuronal cell death. Recently, it has been postulated that neuroinflammatory processes might play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of PD. Numerous postmortem, brain imaging, epidemiological, and animal studies have documented the involvement of the innate and adaptive immunity in neurodegeneration. Whether these inflammatory processes are directly involved in the etiology of PD or represent secondary consequences of nigrostriatal pathway injury is the subject of intensive research. Immune alterations in response to extracellular α-synuclein may play a critical role in modulating Parkinson’s disease progression. In this review, we address the current concept of neuroinflammation and its involvement in PD-associated neurodegeneration.
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J Neurol. 2020 Sep;267(9):2507-2523.
doi: 10.1007/s00415-019-09320-1. Epub 2019 Apr 30.
Parkinson’s disease and the gastrointestinal microbiome
Michal Lubomski 1 2 3, Ai Huey Tan 4, Shen-Yang Lim 4, Andrew J Holmes 5, Ryan L Davis 6, Carolyn M Sue 7 6
Abstract
Recently, there has been a surge in awareness of the gastrointestinal microbiome (GM) and its role in health and disease. Of particular note is an association between the GM and Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the realisation that the GM can act via a complex bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain. Compelling evidence suggests that a shift in GM composition may play an important role in the pathogenesis of PD by facilitating the characteristic ascending neurodegenerative spread of α-synuclein aggregates from the enteric nervous system to the brain. Here, we review evidence linking GM changes with PD, highlighting mechanisms supportive of pathological α-synuclein spread and intestinal inflammation in PD. We summarise existing patterns and correlations seen in clinical studies of the GM in PD, together with the impacts of non-motor symptoms, medications, lifestyle, diet and ageing on the GM. Roles of GM modulating therapies including probiotics and faecal microbiota transplantation are discussed. Encouragingly, alterations in the GM have repeatedly been observed in PD, supporting a biological link and highlighting it as a potential therapeutic target.
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Autoimmun Rev. 2016 Oct;15(10):1005-11.
doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2016.07.022. Epub 2016 Aug 4.
Parkinson’s disease: Autoimmunity and neuroinflammation
Armando De Virgilio 1, Antonio Greco 2, Giovanni Fabbrini 3, Maurizio Inghilleri 3, Maria Ida Rizzo 4, Andrea Gallo 5, Michela Conte 2, Chiara Rosato 5, Mario Ciniglio Appiani 1, Marco de Vincentiis 2
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that causes the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The resulting dopamine deficiency in the basal ganglia leads to a movement disorder that is characterized by classical parkinsonian motor symptoms. Parkinson’s disease is recognized as the most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. PD ethiopathogenesis remains to be elucidated and has been connected to genetic, environmental and immunologic conditions. The past decade has provided evidence for a significant role of the immune system in PD pathogenesis, either through inflammation or an autoimmune response. Several autoantibodies directed at antigens associated with PD pathogenesis have been identified in PD patients. This immune activation may be the cause of, rather than a response to, the observed neuronal loss. Parkinsonian motor symptoms include bradykinesia, muscular rigidity and resting tremor. The non-motor features include olfactory dysfunction, cognitive impairment, psychiatric symptoms and autonomic dysfunction. Microscopically, the specific degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the presence of Lewy bodies, which are brain deposits containing a substantial amount of α-synuclein, have been recognized. The progression of Parkinson’s disease is characterized by a worsening of motor features; however, as the disease progresses, there is an emergence of complications related to long-term symptomatic treatment. The available therapies for Parkinson’s disease only treat the symptoms of the disease. A major goal of Parkinson’s disease research is the development of disease-modifying drugs that slow or stop the neurodegenerative process. Drugs that enhance the intracerebral dopamine concentrations or stimulate dopamine receptors remain the mainstay treatment for motor symptoms. Immunomodulatory therapeutic strategies aiming to attenuate PD neurodegeneration have become an attractive option and warrant further investigation.
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Mol Neurodegener. 2020 Oct 17;15(1):59.
doi: 10.1186/s13024-020-00408-1.
Glycosphingolipids and neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease
Karim Belarbi 1 2, Elodie Cuvelier 3 4, Marie-Amandine Bonte 3, Mazarine Desplanque 3 4, Bernard Gressier 3 4, David Devos 3 5, Marie-Christine Chartier-Harlin 6
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons of the nigrostriatal pathway and the formation of neuronal inclusions known as Lewy bodies. Chronic neuroinflammation, another hallmark of the disease, is thought to play an important role in the neurodegenerative process.Glycosphingolipids are a well-defined subclass of lipids that regulate crucial aspects of the brain function and recently emerged as potent regulators of the inflammatory process. Deregulation in glycosphingolipid metabolism has been reported in Parkinson’s disease. However, the interrelationship between glycosphingolipids and neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease is not well known. This review provides a thorough overview of the links between glycosphingolipid metabolism and immune-mediated mechanisms involved in neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease. After a brief presentation of the metabolism and function of glycosphingolipids in the brain, it summarizes the evidences supporting that glycosphingolipids (i.e. glucosylceramides or specific gangliosides) are deregulated in Parkinson’s disease. Then, the implications of these deregulations for neuroinflammation, based on data from human inherited lysosomal glycosphingolipid storage disorders and gene-engineered animal studies are outlined. Finally, the key molecular mechanisms by which glycosphingolipids could control neuro-inflammation in Parkinson’s disease are highlighted. These include inflammasome activation and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, altered calcium homeostasis, changes in the blood-brain barrier permeability, recruitment of peripheral immune cells or production of autoantibodies.