Intestinal health identified in the fight against Parkinson's disease

Lina PortmanMay 28, 2024

0 1 minute read

A team from the Queensland University of Technology has been awarded $4 million for a four-year trial that will aim to combat the disease by changing gut health.

Parkinson's disease is the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world, with cases expected to triple in Australia by 2050.

No effective treatment is available to stop Parkinson's disease, which affects more than 150,000 Australians.

The QUT team based at the Brisbane Translational Research Institute hopes to change that with a new approach that looks at the gut ecosystem.

Associate Professor Richard Gordon said studies have shown a difference in the gut health of Parkinson's patients and healthy people.

Patients with Parkinson's disease may suffer from persistent inflammation of the immune system, which is linked to a gut microbial imbalance, he said.

Over time, inflammation can damage the nerve cells or neurons that produce an important chemical messenger in the brain called dopamine.

The QUT team hopes to design microbes and test new drugs that will change the gut ecosystem with funding provided by the US Department of Defense.

“New evidence suggests that many of the known features of Parkinson's disease, such as persistent inflammation and immune system activation, are closely linked to a microbial imbalance in the gut,” Dr. Gordon said.

“Rather than taking the current approach of blocking activated immune pathways, our research will explore the potential for restoring gut health, resolving immune activation via the gut to prevent vulnerable neurons from being damaged. ”

“If our approach is successful, it will open new avenues to potentially slow or stop Parkinson's disease and improve the quality of life for millions of people living with this disease.”

Recruitment for the study is expected to begin in August and will be open to both people with the disease and healthy volunteers.

The study will involve providing a routine blood sample at a clinical setting and a take-home microbiome kit that participants can mail back to the research team.

They will collaborate with neurologists from the Royal Brisbane Hospital and the Princess Alexandra Hospital and partner with researchers from the University of Georgia in the United States.