New Study: Parkinson Could Be Linked To Intestinal Infections

mrchibbs

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This is shocking to me, because it's about the first time I've seen study results of this kind printed in a major newspaper. There's references to LPS and endotoxin, dopamine etc. The article is in french, published today in Montreal's La Presse (the city's biggest french newspaper) :

Le Parkinson pourrait être lié aux infections intestinales | AUDREY-MAUDE VEZINA | Sciences

For convenience here is the link to the english paper published in Nature: Intestinal infection triggers Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms in Pink1−/− mice

The gist of it is that intestinal infections can jumpstart the process of an auto-immune response which leads to the destruction of the mitochondria in dopamine-producing neurons found in the brain. Of course their argument is still embedded in ideas of genetic mutation and what not, but they did show that the main idea is the role of bacteria, and the inflammation produced by the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or endotoxin. The researchers found that germ-free mice do not develop Parkinson symptoms, independent of their genes. Simply introducing gram negative bacteria to these mice led to the development of Parkinson symptoms within a couple months.

Another reason to keep the intestine clean with activated charcoal, camphoric acid etc. And to make sure that thyroid function stays elevated to maintain a robust digestion.
 
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Another reason to keep the intestine clean with activated charcoal, camphoric acid etc. And to make sure that thyroid function stays elevated to maintain a robust digestion.

Do you have any experience with camphoric acid?
 
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mrchibbs

mrchibbs

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@methylenewhite No, but I've been trying to get some on Ebay, and I've also been borderline harassing Georgi aka @haidut about making a USP Camphor supplement for oral use. (Sorry about that Georgi!) From what I've found, it hasn't been commonly used as medication for the intestines since before WW2 (!)

The stuff available online on eBay is somewhat sketchy, but it used to be very common as an intestinal disinfectant. Apparently camphor powder is exactly the same as camphoric acid. I should have also mentioned other things that are good for intestinal health like cascara, flowers of sulfur and penicillin, but I've been wanting to try that one, as Ray has talked about it before in glowing terms.

I've found only one categorized as ''food grade'' from India, but haven't heard back from seller yet, Ebay item # 141928288877

upload_2019-7-17_21-44-29.png
 
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haidut

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This is shocking to me, because it's about the first time I've seen study results of this kind published in a major newspaper. There's references to LPS and endotoxin, dopamine etc. The article is in french, published today in Montreal's La Presse (the city's biggest french newspaper) :

Le Parkinson pourrait être lié aux infections intestinales | AUDREY-MAUDE VEZINA | Sciences

For convenience here is the link to the english paper published in Nature: Intestinal infection triggers Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms in Pink1−/− mice

The gist of it is that intestinal infections can jumpstart the process of an auto-immune response which leads to the destruction of the mitochondria in dopamine-producing neurons found in the brain. Of course their argument is still embedded in ideas of genetic mutation and what not, but they did show that the main idea is the role of bacteria, and the inflammation produced by the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or endotoxin. The researchers found that germ-free mice do not develop Parkinson symptoms, independent of their genes. Simply introducing gram negative bacteria to these mice led to the development of Parkinson symptoms within a couple months.

Another reason to keep the intestine clean with activated charcoal, camphoric acid etc. And to make sure that thyroid function stays elevated to maintain a robust digestion.

Great find, thanks! This study actually matches quite well the one I posted on elevated extracellular serotonin being the cause of PD and not low dopamine.
https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/serotonin-excess-not-dopamine-deficiency-may-be-the-cause-of-parkinson.29844/

All that endotoxin results in both higher synthesis of serotonin and also lower SERT expression.
 
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mrchibbs

mrchibbs

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Great find, thanks! This study actually matches quite well the one I posted on elevated extracellular serotonin being the cause of PD and not low dopamine.
https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/serotonin-excess-not-dopamine-deficiency-may-be-the-cause-of-parkinson.29844/

All that endotoxin results in both higher synthesis of serotonin and also lower SERT expression.

No problem! It's eerie that I just found this and you just recently posted a study on PD. I've been thinking about this serotonin vs. dopamine angle. Serotonin excess is associated with neuromuscular excitation and I know we've talked about this in the live streams with Danny but I'm starting to wonder if bruxism and restless leg syndrome, along with other types of involuntary muscular issues, aren't closely linked or at least similar to the pathology of Parkinson disease.
 

haidut

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if bruxism and restless leg syndrome, along with other types of involuntary muscular issues, aren't closely linked or at least similar to the pathology of Parkinson disease

Of course they are, and are also treated with dopamine agonists. So, it really is just an intestinal dysfunction manifesting in the brain, mouth and legs as "movement disorders".
Pramipexole: MedlinePlus Drug Information
"... Pramipexole is also used to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS; a condition that causes discomfort in the legs and a strong urge to move the legs, especially at night and when sitting or lying down). Pramipexole is in a class of medications called dopamine agonists. It works by acting in place of dopamine, a natural substance in the brain that is needed to control movement."
Sleep Science - Sleep bruxism treatment
"...Primary and secondary SB pharmacology employs dopaminergic agonistic drugs, anxyolitic benzodiazepinics, clonidine, buspirone, non-benzodiazepinic hypnotics (zolpiden), muscle relaxers, antidepressants, such as mirtazapine, trazodone, and antiepileptic drugs, such as gabapentine. Local application of botulinic toxin to the masseter and temporal muscles may be used in cases of secondary bruxism or severe SB."
 
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mrchibbs

mrchibbs

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Of course they are, and are also treated with dopamine agonists. So, it really is just an intestinal dysfunction manifesting in the brain, mouth and legs as "movement disorders".
Pramipexole: MedlinePlus Drug Information
"... Pramipexole is also used to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS; a condition that causes discomfort in the legs and a strong urge to move the legs, especially at night and when sitting or lying down). Pramipexole is in a class of medications called dopamine agonists. It works by acting in place of dopamine, a natural substance in the brain that is needed to control movement."
Sleep Science - Sleep bruxism treatment
"...Primary and secondary SB pharmacology employs dopaminergic agonistic drugs, anxyolitic benzodiazepinics, clonidine, buspirone, non-benzodiazepinic hypnotics (zolpiden), muscle relaxers, antidepressants, such as mirtazapine, trazodone, and antiepileptic drugs, such as gabapentine. Local application of botulinic toxin to the masseter and temporal muscles may be used in cases of secondary bruxism or severe SB."

Wow thanks. This is an Aha moment for me. Such a fascinating topic, it feels like It makes so much sense that Pramipexole treats both restless leg syndrome and PD, and motor disfunction in general. It makes me think of Michael J. Fox and what sort of physiological traits drove his early onset Parkinsons.

I'm about to go on a tangent, but this is making me think of hair loss as well. This is all conjecture on my part, but I feel like serotonin is more central to the structural problems of scalp hair loss than we've touched on before. Danny has written about it several times, but I have a slightly different angle in mind.

What if similarly to bruxism, serotonin excess induces prolonged, involuntary contraction of the peripheral scalp muscles/tissues, eventually leading to tissue hypoxia and fibrosis? Serotonin is definitely central to fibrosis . So called AGA has been linked to mechanical stress/tension at the scalp level. And Botox has been used exactly the same way as with bruxism, to relax scalp muscles which allowed to restore some hair growth.

I think general excess muscular/tissue tension might be a key characteristic of a long-term low energy state. And de-energized intestinal tissues might be at the root of the serotonin dominance which probably builds up over years. That's why of course restoring thyroid function is crucial, but I'm postulating that one of the reasons why hair loss goes unresolved in many people despite several years of recovery is probably that healing the fibrosis in peripheral tissues (like the scalp) requires a massive abundance of extra energy, of which the bulk is necessarily allocated to the fibrosis of the core tissues and organs, which can mean the scalp fibrosis goes unresolved even when the systemic problems are solved. Children don't develop fibrosis, because their energy levels are so high, wounds heal without the formation of fibrotic tissues.

Ray in a recent interview has mentioned that he thinks that massage can be very supportive and restorative to tissues. I totally agree with Danny that the kind of massage with actively seeks to injure to induce regrowth are possibly just going to elevate nitric oxide without doing much good, but not so with more gentle approaches like stretching and light massaging which relieve tension. In this case, I think this is why the scalp exercise technique of Tom Haggerty is so therapeutic, by alleviating this chronic muscular tension. And also why the general massage approach of Rob S. English's research is promising as well. Scalp stretching for a mere 4 minutes daily has been found to increase hair growth. I'm tempted to see in the same light as the study which you posted last year, about stretching reducing tumor size by 50%. I think this points to massage being able to restore energy/function to stagnant local tissues, much the same way that a fibrotic-ridden ankle can't heal on its own, and massage can resolve it for good.

Since serotonin excess/dopamine deficiency is associated with neuromuscular excitability/rigidity then it's reasonable to think it could be a crucial factor behind several issues, like bruxism, but also at least part of the pathology of hair loss.
 
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AinmAnseo

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Wow thanks. This is an Aha moment for me. Such a fascinating topic, it feels like It makes so much sense that Pramipexole treats both restless leg syndrome and PD, and motor disfunction in general. It makes me think of Michael J. Fox and what sort of physiological traits drove his early onset Parkinsons.

I'm about to go on a tangent, but this is making me think of hair loss as well. This is all conjecture on my part, but I feel like serotonin is more central to the structural problems of scalp hair loss than we've touched on before. Danny has written about it several times, but I have a slightly different angle in mind.

What if similarly to bruxism, serotonin excess induces prolonged, involuntary contraction of the peripheral scalp muscles/tissues, eventually leading to tissue hypoxia and fibrosis? Serotonin is definitely central to fibrosis . So called AGA has been linked to mechanical stress/tension at the scalp level. And Botox has been used exactly the same way as with bruxism, to relax scalp muscles which allowed to restore some hair growth.
I think general excess muscular/tissue tension might be a key characteristic of a long-term low energy state. And de-energized intestinal tissues might be at the root of the serotonin dominance which probably builds up over years. That's why of course restoring thyroid function is crucial, but I'm postulating that one of the reasons why hair loss goes unresolved in many people despite several years of recovery is probably that healing the fibrosis in peripheral tissues (like the scalp) requires a massive abundance of extra energy, of which the bulk is necessarily allocated to the fibrosis of the core tissues and organs, which can mean the scalp fibrosis goes unresolved even when the systemic problems are solved. Children don't develop fibrosis, because their energy levels are so high, wounds heal without the formation of fibrotic tissues.

Ray in a recent interview has mentioned that he thinks that massage can be very supportive and restorative to tissues. I totally agree with Danny that the kind of massage with actively seeks to injure to induce regrowth are possibly just going to elevate nitric oxide without doing much good, but not so with more gentle approaches like stretching and light massaging which relieve tension. In this case, I think this is why the scalp exercise technique of Tom Haggerty is so therapeutic, by alleviating this chronic muscular tension. And also why the general massage approach of Rob S. English's research is promising as well. Scalp stretching for a mere 4 minutes daily has been found to increase hair growth. I'm tempted to see in the same light as the study which you posted last year, about stretching reducing tumor size by 50%. I think this points to massage being able to restore energy/function to stagnant local tissues, much the same way that a fibrotic-ridden ankle can't heal on its own, and massage can resolve it for good.

Since serotonin excess/dopamine deficiency is associated with neuromuscular excitability/rigidity then it's reasonable to think it could be a crucial factor behind several issues, like bruxism, but also at least part of the pathology of hair loss.
Great post.
 
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