Abstract
Parkinson's disease is not only a movement disorder: non-motor symptoms such as loss
of smell, constipation, depression, cognitive impairment, sleep problems and disturbances
of the autonomic nervous system also feature. The etiology is still unknown, although
an increasing number of gene-related Parkinsonian syndromes have been identified.
It is intriguing to speculate that PD starts by the intake of a toxin, bacteria or
virus. This idea stems from the fact that pathological abnormalities such as Lewy
neuritis, Lewy bodies and alpha-synuclein accumulation are first found in the enteric
nervous system of the gut and in the olfactory bulb. There is increasing evidence
that the disease may spread out from the enteric nervous system of the gut via the
vagal nerve up to the brain. Here we present data from animal work which supports
this assumption.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 20, 2011
Accepted:
April 21,
2011
Received in revised form:
April 17,
2011
Received:
March 29,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
