Antibiotics And Increased Risk For Parkinson's Disease?

[Blossom]

This seems slightly concerning but I don't have access to the full study. If anyone is able to get it and would be willing to share their thoughts I'd appreciate it. The first link is the news article and the second is a link to the study abstract. @Soren

Increased use of antibiotics may predispose to Parkinson's disease

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[lampofred]

Dr. Peat wrote that endotoxin increases catecholamine production in the brain. It's here: Thyroid, insomnia, and the insanities: Commonalities in disease He bolded the following title study in his references: "Endotoxin administration stimulates cerebral catecholamine release in freely moving rats as assessed by microdialysis."

My guess is that it's similar to how estrogen increases catecholamines in a toxic way.

 

[Blossom]

Dr. Peat wrote that endotoxin increases catecholamine production in the brain. It's here: Thyroid, insomnia, and the insanities: Commonalities in disease He bolded the following title study in his references: "Endotoxin administration stimulates cerebral catecholamine release in freely moving rats as assessed by microdialysis."

My guess is that it's similar to how estrogen increases catecholamines in a toxic way.

So do you think the antibiotics are effecting endotoxins and therefore cortisol? They are basically blaming the antibiotics but from a Peat perspective I would think they should be helpful.

 

[Nokoni]

@Blossom the study is attached but I'm afraid I can't make much sense of it. If you read through the discussion it seems the authors can't either. They did find an association, but it might be due to this or it might be due to that. It's not among their conjectures but I wonder if it could come down to people who become sick in one way (and therefore take antibiotics) are more likely to become sick in other ways (such as Parkinson's). As you say, "slightly concerning", and so maybe it's prudent to not take antibiotics without a good purpose, but maybe not so concerning (yet) that one should make strong efforts to try to avoid them.

 

[Blossom]

@Blossom the study is attached but I'm afraid I can't make much sense of it. If you read through the discussion it seems the authors can't either. They did find an association, but it might be due to this or it might be due to that. It's not among their conjectures but I wonder if it could come down to people who become sick in one way (and therefore take antibiotics) are more likely to become sick in other ways (such as Parkinson's). As you say, "slightly concerning", and so maybe it's prudent to not take antibiotics without a good purpose, but maybe not so concerning (yet) that one should make strong efforts to try to avoid them.

Thank you so much!

 

[Soren]

Thanks for making me aware of this @Blossom. This study for me presents more evidence that the gut is heavily implemented with regards to the development of PD but I think it is unlikely that antibiotics are the direct cause. However they could indirectly be a contributing factor through the release of endotoxin due to the die off of bacteria.

There is evidence that high serotonin levels may be a causative factor in PD, 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut and much of that is due to endotoxin. When bacteria are killed off as the result of antibiotics they can sometimes release large amounts of endotoxin into they body.
STUDY: The Endotoxin-Induced Neuroinflammation Model of Parkinson's Disease

This study demonstrates that there is an increase in endotoxin with exposure to certain types of antibiotics HOWEVER not all antibiotics promoted an increase in endotoxin
STUDY: Antibiotic- induced release of endotoxin from bacteria in vitro
"The present study demonstrated that endotoxin is released from Ent. cloacae and E. coli after exposure to cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin and piperacillin, but not during exposure to tobramycin."

So taking certain kinds of antibiotics might be causing elevations of endotoxin due to bacterial die off which in turn increases serotonin as well as other inflammatory markers which over time may be a contributing factor to PD due to the repeated elevation of endotoxin. However I don't think there is a direct link between the two that is to say I do not think that antibiotics cause PD.

One way to counter this endotoxin induced bacterial die off might be to take activated charcoal or the raw carrot salad.

 

[lampofred]

So do you think the antibiotics are effecting endotoxins and therefore cortisol? They are basically blaming the antibiotics but from a Peat perspective I would think they should be helpful.

I thought it could be that some bacteria release catecholamines in an excitotoxic way, similar to how estrogen does (especially since they wrote that these bacteria were anaerobic, and since estrogen increases lactobacillus strains), and using antibiotics kills off these bacteria, revealing the underlying Parkinson's.

I think Dr. Peat wrote that dopamine/catecholamines can mask the symptoms of a serotonin excess but that the healthy way to target Parkinson's would be focus on reducing serotonin and not on increasing dopamine.

 

[tankasnowgod]

This seems slightly concerning but I don't have access to the full study. If anyone is able to get it and would be willing to share their thoughts I'd appreciate it. The first link is the news article and the second is a link to the study abstract. @Soren

Increased use of antibiotics may predispose to Parkinson's disease

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I think one factor, at least, is the fact that conditions that would lead a person to get a prescription for antibiotics, or multiple prescriptions, would be some of the same driving forces that could eventually lead to Parkinson's. Of note the studies listed only go back to 1993, and there was a lot of information (or propaganda) out there that antibiotics are best avoided by most people during this timeframe. This, in itself, may have led to a self fulfilling prophecy, as people who feel "healthy enough" avoided or declined antibiotic use, even in conditions where they might have helped that person's condition. Basically, groups that took antibiotics more frequently would be a group of people (even somewhat self selected) that have poorer health than groups that avoid them.

As a prime example, a person that is more iron loaded will be more susceptible to infections, and other health problems. If such a person were to take antibiotics, they would likely need a longer and/or stronger course than others, as iron is an element that can completely neutralize antibiotics in some conditions. At the same time, excess iron in the brain leads to mentally degenerative conditions, like Parkinson's and Alzheimers.

 

[Blossom]

Thanks for making me aware of this @Blossom. This study for me presents more evidence that the gut is heavily implemented with regards to the development of PD but I think it is unlikely that antibiotics are the direct cause. However they could indirectly be a contributing factor through the release of endotoxin due to the die off of bacteria.

There is evidence that high serotonin levels may be a causative factor in PD, 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut and much of that is due to endotoxin. When bacteria are killed off as the result of antibiotics they can sometimes release large amounts of endotoxin into they body.
STUDY: The Endotoxin-Induced Neuroinflammation Model of Parkinson's Disease

This study demonstrates that there is an increase in endotoxin with exposure to certain types of antibiotics HOWEVER not all antibiotics promoted an increase in endotoxin
STUDY: Antibiotic- induced release of endotoxin from bacteria in vitro
"The present study demonstrated that endotoxin is released from Ent. cloacae and E. coli after exposure to cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin and piperacillin, but not during exposure to tobramycin."

So taking certain kinds of antibiotics might be causing elevations of endotoxin due to bacterial die off which in turn increases serotonin as well as other inflammatory markers which over time may be a contributing factor to PD due to the repeated elevation of endotoxin. However I don't think there is a direct link between the two that is to say I do not think that antibiotics cause PD.

One way to counter this endotoxin induced bacterial die off might be to take activated charcoal or the raw carrot salad.

Thank you. That makes sense to me.

 

[Blossom]

I thought it could be that some bacteria release catecholamines in an excitotoxic way, similar to how estrogen does (especially since they wrote that these bacteria were anaerobic, and since estrogen increases lactobacillus strains), and using antibiotics kills off these bacteria, revealing the underlying Parkinson's.

I think Dr. Peat wrote that dopamine/catecholamines can mask the symptoms of a serotonin excess but that the healthy way to target Parkinson's would be focus on reducing serotonin and not on increasing dopamine.

Thanks for clarifying, that’s very interesting!

I think one factor, at least, is the fact that conditions that would lead a person to get a prescription for antibiotics, or multiple prescriptions, would be some of the same driving forces that could eventually lead to Parkinson's. Of note the studies listed only go back to 1993, and there was a lot of information (or propaganda) out there that antibiotics are best avoided by most people during this timeframe. This, in itself, may have led to a self fulfilling prophecy, as people who feel "healthy enough" avoided or declined antibiotic use, even in conditions where they might have helped that person's condition. Basically, groups that took antibiotics more frequently would be a group of people (even somewhat self selected) that have poorer health than groups that avoid them.

As a prime example, a person that is more iron loaded will be more susceptible to infections, and other health problems. If such a person were to take antibiotics, they would likely need a longer and/or stronger course than others, as iron is an element that can completely neutralize antibiotics in some conditions. At the same time, excess iron in the brain leads to mentally degenerative conditions, like Parkinson's and Alzheimers.

Yes, I think it’s a bit more complex too. I know when I had a body fluid exposure at work in 1999 and required 50 days of levaquin my health was severely impacted. During that time I also frequently had to take prophylactic antibiotics required by the hospital due to working NICU. Those two years basically destroyed my health and I’m still recovering in some ways. Antibiotics are definitely a double edged sword so to speak.