Helicobacter pylori bacteria may be the culprit causing Parkinson's disease

Brain cells may be victims of Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that has been identified as the culprit in ulcers and stomach cancer in humans.

Helicobacter pylori, which lives in the stomach of about half of the world's population, may be the culprit causing Parkinson's disease, according to research results reported at the meeting of the American Society of Microbiology. period, taking place on May 22, 2011.

Parkinson's disease occurs because brain cells control the progression of degenerated muscles. These brain cells produce dopamine, a substance that plays an important role in signaling between cells. When they degenerate, the amount of dopamine will decrease in the patient's body, leading to symptoms of Parkinson's: Difficulty walking, slow movement, stiff and shaky hands and feet, paralyzed facial muscles. Parkinson's patients have difficulty controlling their movements. Every year, about 60,000 new Parkinson's patients are diagnosed in the United States.

Electron Microscope takes pictures of Helicobacter pylori bacteria on the surface of the patient's intestine

Some previous studies have suggested that Parkinson's patients are more at risk of developing gastric ulcers than healthy people , at some point in their lives, and they appear to be infected with Vi. Helicobacter pylori bacteria. And now the link between the bacterium Hyicobacter pylori and Parkinson's disease eventually has indirect evidence.

Now researchers are gathering possible direct evidence of a link between the bacterium Hyicobacter pylori and Parkinson's disease.

Middle-aged mice in the laboratory were infected with Helicobacter pylori causing gastric ulcer, after a few months of infection, unusual symptoms of Parkinson's disease appeared in mice, according to Traci Testerman, a microbiologist working at the Center. Shreveport Medical Research, Louisiana State University, USA. Meanwhile, young mice infected with Helicobacter pylori did not show any abnormal signs in movement problems. Michael Salvatore, a neuroscientist, and colleague of Testerman, found that: Experimental mice infected with Helicobacter pylori have reduced levels of dopamine, because brain cells that produce dopamine degenerate, and will eventually lead to symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Bacteria don't need to be alive to cause disease. For lab rats that have been killed by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, mice are also infected with Parkinson's disease, so scientists believe that the cause of Parkinson's disease is due to some biochemical components of bacteria .

The candidate for Parkinson's disease at the molecular level is believed to be modified cholesterol. Helicobacter pylori cannot synthesize cholesterol on its own, so it takes cholesterol from the host and paste sugar molecules to these cholesterol. The altered cholesterol structure is similar to the toxin from tropical sesame; People in Guam, USA, have eaten the seeds of plants and dangerous dementia called ALS-parkinsonism. Testerman and his colleagues are determining whether the altered cholesterol structure alone can lead to Parkinson's symptoms in mice or some other factor from bacteria.

In any case, scientists have found that Helicobacter pylori has caused or contributed to Parkinson's disease , it is unlikely that the removal of this bacterium will be a good thing. Because, Helicobacter pylori bacteria cause ulcers and stomach cancer, but on the other hand, it also helps protect against allergies, asthma and esophageal cancer and acid reflux disease. It is difficult to determine exactly how and when Helicobacter pylori will affect any individual, according to Stanley Maloy, a microbiologist working at San Diego State University, USA. But it is clear that the relationship between Parkinson's disease and Helicobacter pylori in the stomach cannot be ignored.

" Having enough solid data confirms that: we will make the mistake of not recognizing the role of Helicobacter pylori in Parkinson's disease ," Maloy said.

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