University of Helsinki study shows certai... - Cure Parkinson's

Cure Parkinson's

26,569 members27,876 posts

University of Helsinki study shows certain strains of Desulfovibrio bacteria could cause Parkinson's

freefallmode profile image
51 Replies

Worth keeping an eye on, even though the article source (miragenews.com) sounds unrealistically optimistic.

"Study Unveils Potential Cause of Parkinson’s"

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have demonstrated that certain strains of Desulfovibrio bacteria are the likely cause of Parkinson’s disease in most cases...

miragenews.com/potential-ca...

Written by
freefallmode profile image
freefallmode
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
51 Replies
chartist profile image
chartist

Here is a link to the new study(May 1, 2023) :

frontiersin.org/articles/10...

There are several antibiotics capable of killing various strains of this bacteria. This could potentially explain why FMT has shown benefit in PwP and why some people have reported a reversal of symptoms after use of certain antibiotics. If found to be correct, it could also help to screen for more effective FMT specifics or probiotic specifics.

Art

freefallmode profile image
freefallmode in reply tochartist

Very interesting. Do you happen to have a source for information about the particular antibiotics that target these pathogens?

chartist profile image
chartist in reply tofreefallmode

Multiple inhibitors were mentioned below, but they are discussing specific strains of desulfovibrio for this study. Not all types are relevant in this specific case. The three they mentioned as coming from PwP are :

D. desulfuricans

D. fairfieldensis

D. piger)

These are the ones that would likely need to be inhibited or eradicated.

I have not seen data for these three particular strains as far as inhibition or eradication, but I shall give it a look.

Art

chartist profile image
chartist in reply tochartist

A brief look showed that copper seems to be a fairly potent inhibitor of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Interestingly, copper seems to be impaired in Parkinson's disease according to this article :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....

Here is a relevant quote :

' The involvement of copper in numerous physiological processes makes this metal ion essential for human life. Alterations in copper homeostasis might have deleterious consequences, and several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), have been associated with impaired copper levels. '

Art

chartist profile image
chartist in reply tochartist

The second strain, D. fairfieldensis, has shown the ability to damage the epithelial barrier, as discussed here :

frontiersin.org/articles/10...

Art

chartist profile image
chartist in reply tochartist

The third strain, Desulfovibrio piger is frequently seen as active in inflammatory bowel disease, so these look like three very bad players in the gut microbiome of some PwP, but are they the cause???

healthmatters.io/understand...

Green tea and turmeric seem to be natural inhibitors of this group.

Art

Bolt_Upright profile image
Bolt_Upright in reply tochartist

This might explain why Curcumin has been shown to work for PD. I follow this 1 gram, twice a day protocol: healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

chartist profile image
chartist in reply toBolt_Upright

When I wasn't allergic to curcumin, I used 8 grams per day, but that may have contributed to my allergy?

Art

Bolt_Upright profile image
Bolt_Upright

I have a High School degree... "BBR also reduced diversity of the gut microbiota and interfered with the relative abundance of Desulfovibrio, Eubacterium, and Bacteroides." frontiersin.org/articles/10...

BBR = Berberine

BBR is in my stack and seems to make my poop look better per the Bristol Stool Chart (I'm gunning for Best in Show!).

jeffreyn profile image
jeffreyn in reply toBolt_Upright

Bolt, in the reference you linked to, I can't find the text that you quoted.

jeffreyn profile image
jeffreyn in reply tojeffreyn

This link works:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Snowski profile image
Snowski

“Desulfovibrio abundance was reported to be decreased [40%] by 5.0 g of agave inulin intake per day for 21 days”

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Maybe something like this:

Agave Inulin Powder bottle
jimcaster profile image
jimcaster in reply toSnowski

I've spent $9.34 a lot more foolishly. I'll give it a try. 🙂

LeharLover62 profile image
LeharLover62 in reply tojimcaster

Inulin is one of the probiotics hubbies MDS recommends for his patients. We’ve been using FOS which definitely helps and is worth the money. I say go for it!

Zella23 profile image
Zella23 in reply toLeharLover62

My HWP takes inulin with breakfast, daily read a lot about it on here and from research a few years ago. It was initially to help with constipation caused by PD meds.

Michael Mosley in the U.K. brought it to the publics attention in his programme exploring gut bacteria. It wasn’t specific for PD but how to promote healthy gut bacteria.

bbc.co.uk/programmes/articl...

I was also researching about how resistant starches can help with constipation. So inulin and a plethora of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds as above posted by Kia have been part of the diet we follow.

JCRO profile image
JCRO in reply toZella23

More here nature.com/articles/s41531-...

re PD and inulin and SCFAs. (Google the latter if unfamiliar.) I might start taking inulin tomorrow.

It “might” tie in with what Dr. Laurie Mischley has been saying to me for 12 months about the benefits of buckwheat for PwP that people eating it (and/or amaranth, bulgur etc) are in her view doing the best of her cohort, progressing the least). The following article article might shed some light:

frontiersin.org/articles/10...

Plenty to cogitate upon. Bolt_Upright or chartist might have some clever thoughts.

Late where I am, so posted in haste. Post in haste repent at leisure!

Zella23 profile image
Zella23 in reply toJCRO

thanks I ll start researching the above. I ve just bought the agave inulin as opposed to the chicory one, we have bought both types for the last few years according to my orders on Amazon. The Agave one is the one recommended in most of the research so we’ll swap back to that.

curlscurls profile image
curlscurls in reply toZella23

If you've been trying it for a couple years, have you seen any changes?

Zella23 profile image
Zella23 in reply tocurlscurls

I think all the dietary additions including inulin have helped with constipation and probably improving the gut motility.

When I was researching about prebiotics I did notice quite a few seemed to contain inulin, which was certainly a lot easier to buy and consume than some of the prebiotics recommended for Parkinson’s. So I added in the inulin and also Kefir yogurt at breakfast.

My husband, is now 8 years after diagnosis, he’s doing quite well so we ll keep it in his diet.

If you look on my posts you ll see my husband has tried many things that have helped him cope with the PD symptoms.

curlscurls profile image
curlscurls in reply toZella23

So glad he's found stuff. I'm new, I'll have to keep catching up on older posts.

Luckily I don't have constipation. So, right now, my goal is whatever will stop the death of the neurons (the progression). It'll take a while for the theories to percolate into FDA treatments even when true.

Boscoejean profile image
Boscoejean in reply toJCRO

so this makes me wonder about some of the other foods that may not be GMO or may have no glyphosate: teff, millet, sorghum, quinoa, millet, chia, possibly others

curlscurls profile image
curlscurls in reply toLeharLover62

I can tell I'm a newbie. I have to look up or figure out the acronyms as I read, 😀. What's FOS?

Feargaire profile image
Feargaire in reply toLeharLover62

Inulin is a prebiotic I do believe 😁

A critical aspect of microbiome support

JAS9 profile image
JAS9 in reply tojimcaster

Me to!

Thaxter profile image
Thaxter in reply toJAS9

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) also sometimes called oligofructose or oligofructan, are oligosaccharide fructans, used as an alternative sweetener. FOS is extracted from the blue agave plant as well as fruits and vegetables such as bananas, onions, chicory root, garlic, asparagus, jícama, and leeks. The Jerusalem artichoke and its relative yacón together with the blue agave plant have been found to have the highest concentrations of FOS of cultured plants.

curlscurls profile image
curlscurls in reply toThaxter

Thanks! I wouldn't have guessed it was about alternative sugars.

chartist profile image
chartist in reply tojimcaster

Inulin is the active prebiotic in the popular probiotic, PS128.

Art

Boscoejean profile image
Boscoejean in reply tochartist

so is it chicory inulin or agave inulin?

chartist profile image
chartist in reply toBoscoejean

You would have to contact the manufacturer to find out what type of inulin they used in PS128.

Art

Boscoejean profile image
Boscoejean in reply tochartist

I found out it is Jerusalem artichoke inulin

chartist profile image
chartist in reply tochartist

amazon.com/Anthonys-Organic...

marcet profile image
marcet in reply tojimcaster

Hi Jim,

Did you try ?

jimcaster profile image
jimcaster in reply tomarcet

I ordered it through Amazon, but haven't received it yet.

jimcaster profile image
jimcaster in reply tomarcet

I just received the bottle today and took a teaspoon full. I didn't realize it came in the form of a powder. I prefer capsules, but I will try to take it daily. I don't expect anything miraculous, but hopefully it will have a positive effect in the long term.

Snowski profile image
Snowski

“Glycomacropeptide is a prebiotic that reduces Desulfovibrio bacteria, increases cecal short-chain fatty acids, and is anti-inflammatory in mice”

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/262...

“Glycomacropeptide (GMP), also called caseinomacropeptide, is a milk-derived bioactive peptide that is released from κ-casein via enzymatic digestion, either physiologically or in industry during the cheese-making process “

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Snowski profile image
Snowski

“Desulfovibrio spp. were highly susceptible to sulbactam-ampicillin, meropenem, clindamycin, metronidazole, and chloramphenicol”

journals.asm.org/doi/full/1....

Snowski profile image
Snowski in reply toSnowski

 “All or most [ Desulfovibrio ] isolates were susceptible to imipenem ”

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/115...

Btraveria1 profile image
Btraveria1 in reply toSnowski

metronidazole is a very common antibiotic that has stood the test of time for treating numerous infections. It’s doable to take low doses long term as shown in the following article:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/308...

WinnieThePoo profile image
WinnieThePoo

I have always said parkinson's was poo. I doubt it will be as simple as an antibiotic curing the world of PD overnight. What am I going to do with my new gloves???Still. Very interesting

jeffreyn profile image
jeffreyn

Research paper: Desulfovibrio bacteria enhance alpha-synuclein aggregation in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson’s disease (2023).

The title of the research paper gives a good indication of what they actually did. It uses the word "enhance" rather than "cause". Unfortunately, the abstract uses the stronger word "induce", which creates some uncertainty.

And, of course, the technical writer goes to town on the whole thing!

curlscurls profile image
curlscurls in reply tojeffreyn

They use the word induce in the body of the published article 3 times. Along with their speculations on how the process can be developing, that seems to be their thinking. They haven't yet isolated the genomic of which strains of DSV are involved in 'inducing.' The differences in PD vs healthy are noticeable.

It'd be nice if they figured out how to kill off the relevant DSV rather than figure out how it produces some toxicity or inflammation to fix (which would take so much longer to produce a drug for). Figure out to kill it off and see what effect that has in human rather than worm models.

Healthy models had a lot less results, but not the 'nearly-none' of the coli bacteria that doesn't induce aggregation. So that's probably why they're using induce instead of cause.

jeffreyn profile image
jeffreyn in reply tocurlscurls

Introduction (last sentence): Our results showed that DSV bacteria, especially patient strains, enhanced alpha-syn aggregation in the worms.

There was alpha-syn aggregation present already. The DSV bacteria increased that aggregation.

It's a step forward. Just not as big a step as the technical writer believes.

curlscurls profile image
curlscurls in reply tojeffreyn

I agree that the tech writer didn't summarize well. I skimmed through, saw the link to the article and read that instead.

ASN can aggregates in regular people too, but at much lower rates (from what I've read/gathered.) So "enhanced" can be something that matters by significantly increasing that action. That's how I read it.

The whole finding is not yet proof. It's in earthworms and 20 people! Their study & in their summary of other studies, none find DSV PD particular strains are exclusively in PD patients. Meanwhile the rate of difference seems potentially exciting. If it was in the 70% I'd dismiss it based on my CFS condition experience where there's lots of artifacts of CFS that 70% of patients have. By 90% it seems to matter. So hopefully that's true here too.

jeffreyn profile image
jeffreyn

See also this recent thread on the same topic:

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Carpediadem profile image
Carpediadem

Happy to be finnish today!!

curlscurls profile image
curlscurls

This is so impressive. It looks like solid evidence that these bacteria are a significant factor in causing PD condition. Also that reversing the bacteria reduces that factor. The only weakness is that it's such a small population study?

Am I being unrealistically excited? I can see a cure for non-genetic PD in just a few years, 5-7 years away.

Are there limits that I'm missing?

pvw2 profile image
pvw2

studybuff.com/how-to-treat-....

LeharLover62 profile image
LeharLover62

I was researching and I saw that ambroxol breaks up the Desulfovibrio biofilm, which might explain its benefits for some?

Crosley80 profile image
Crosley80 in reply toLeharLover62

Do you have a link to that?

pvw2 profile image
pvw2

It seems that studies keep pointing to gut bacteria as being important.

Kwisatz profile image
Kwisatz

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

"However, none of the strains tested were resistant to imipenem or metronidazole; these should therefore be considered the drugs most suitable for treating infections caused by Desulfovibrio spp. "

Both antibiotics are practically available in every country in the world! I already have it on the table to try... (Google search is your friend.)

Willingly. :D

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

Parkin larvae bring researchers closer to solving Parkinson's disease puzzle at University of YorkJanuary 16, 2012

(Medical Xpress) -- Scientists at the University of York have made a significant step forward in...
Jerebet profile image

New study could 'drastically' change how we understand Parkinson's

The research, which appears in the journal Current Biology, found that symptoms of Parkinson's...
Kia17 profile image

Fungus 'may cause symptoms of Parkinson's disease'

2013 New research has suggested that a compound often exuded by fungus could be linked to...

Gut bacteria could improve symptoms in Parkinson’s sufferers, study suggests

Gut bacteria could improve symptoms in Parkinson’s sufferers, study suggests...
pvw2 profile image