The Gut-Brain Axis: How Nutrition Influences Parkinson's Disease Development
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The Department of Biomedical Sciences aims to provide knowledge of anatomy and physiology in order to understand the mechanisms and treatment of animal diseases. Additionally, it seeks to teach the understanding of drug-action for rational drug-therapy, as well as toxicology, pharmacodynamics, and clinical drug administration.
History
The Department of Biomedical Sciences was formed in 1999 as a merger of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology.
Dates of Existence
1999–present
Related Units
- College of Veterinary Medicine (parent college)
- Department of Veterinary Anatomy (predecessor, 1997)
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology (predecessor, 1997)
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Abstract
Parkinson's Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, with 1-2% of the population over 65 years old being diagnosed with PD. The exact causes of Parkinson's disease are not known, but only 10% of cases are hereditary, pointing to environmental factors as being a large cause. Currently, more research is looking into potential connections between nutrition and Parkinson's Disease development. It is thought that alpha-synuclein aggregates may accumulate in the enteric nervous system and travel to the central nervous system by way of the Vagus nerve. These alpha-synuclein aggregates are considered the cardinal neuropathological feature of Parkinson's disease and may be the result of an unbalanced microbiome. An unbalanced microbiome may come from unbalanced nutrition, illness, medication, or age. Current treatment of Parkinson's disease is Levodopa, but this treatment does not help alleviate all the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Balanced nutrition may be able to help treat additional symptoms and may even help slow the progression of PD. There are inconsistent results on how nutrition may influence PD, but research is ongoing and shows that if nothing else, a balanced diet may help improve the quality of life of PD patients.