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Parkinson's disease from the gut
Liddle RA.. Brain research, 2018-01-31
Topic: Gut, metabolism and diet
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition associated with tremor, rigidity, dementia, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as constipation, nausea and vomiting. The pathological hallmarks of PD are Lewy bodies and neurites in the brain and peripheral nerves. The major constituent of Lewy bodies is the neuronal protein α-synuclein. Misfolding of α-synuclein confers prion-like properties enabling its spread from cell to cell. Misfolded α-synuclein also serves as a template and induces misfolding of endogenous α-synuclein in recipient cells leading to the formation of oligomers that progress to fibrils and eventually Lewy bodies. Accumulating evidence suggests that PD may arise in the gut. Clinically, gastrointestinal symptoms often appear in patients before other neurological signs and aggregates of α-synuclein have been found in enteric nerves of PD patients. Importantly, patients undergoing vagotomy have a reduced risk of developing PD. Experimentally, abnormal forms of α-synuclein appear in enteric nerves before they appear in the brain and injection of abnormal α-synuclein into the wall of the intestine spreads to the vagus nerve. Ingested toxins and alterations in gut microbiota can induce α-synuclein aggregation and PD, however, it is not known how PD starts. Recently, it has been shown that sensory cells of the gut known as enteroendocrine cells (EECs) contain α-synuclein and synapse with enteric nerves, thus providing a connection from the gut to the brain. It is possible that abnormal α-synuclein first develops in EECs and spreads to the nervous system.
Key findings
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition associated with tremor, rigidity, dementia, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as constipation, nausea and vomiting.
- Accumulating evidence suggests that PD may arise in the gut.
- Recently, it has been shown that sensory cells of the gut known as enteroendocrine cells (EECs) contain α-synuclein and synapse with enteric nerves, thus providing a connection from the gut to the brain.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 38/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 22 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 38 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Brain research) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29360467) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 22 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 22 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 38 out of 100. |
| Total | 38 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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APA 7th
Liddle, R. A. (2018). Parkinson's disease from the gut. Brain research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2018.01.010
Vancouver
Liddle RA. Parkinson's disease from the gut. Brain research. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2018.01.010. PMID: 29360467.
BibTeX
@article{liddle2018-29360467,
author = {Liddle, R. A.},
title = {{Parkinson's disease from the gut}},
journal = {Brain research},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.brainres.2018.01.010},
pmid = {29360467},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2018.01.010}
}