Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell, University of British Columbia
$50,000 over 1 year, funded by Parkinson Society British Columbia through the Parkinson Canada Research Program
Project description:
Although Parkinson’s disease kills brain cells that affect our ability to move and to reason, the trillions of micro-organisms living in our gastrointestinal tracts may be important contributors to the illness.
At the University of British Columbia and with her colleagues at the University of Calgary, Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell, a neurologist and associate professor, uses high-resolution screening tools to study the bacteria in the guts of people with Parkinson’s. This colony of bacteria, fungi, and viruses is known as the microbiota.
Appel-Cresswell is pinpointing the particular strains of bacteria driving inflammation or allowing too many toxic proteins to move from the gut to the brain.
If particular strains of bacteria cause inflammation, for example, it could trigger the body to mount a too-aggressive immune response. This could also lead to the accumulation of the protein alpha-synuclein, damaging brain cells, including those that produce dopamine. Lack of dopamine-producing cells causes the stiffness, tremors, and difficulty walking that characterize Parkinson’s disease.
“From the evidence we have so far, it really seems that the microbiota in people with Parkinson’s are different from those in people who do not have Parkinson’s.”
Certain strains of bacteria may also cause the gut wall to leak, enabling toxins to reach the blood and eventually the brain. A malfunctioning gut can also cause constipation, which leads to more inflammation and leaky gut.
“We’re working on all those pieces of the puzzle to prove what is happening,” Appel-Cresswell says.
Appel-Cresswell and her colleagues Dr. Davide Martino and Laura Sycuro in Calgary are analyzing fecal and blood samples donated from 300 people in Vancouver, and more than 100 others in Calgary.
If she can confirm mechanisms that link gut bacteria and Parkinson’s, her work could lead to treatment that attacks gut dysfunction, including constipation, early and aggressively to interrupt the vicious cycle. The research could also lead to recommended changes in diet and nutrition, including the use of probiotics. The role of nutrition in Parkinson’s is a closely linked research interest for Appel-Cresswell.
A screening tool could also be developed to identify those at higher risk of the disease.
“The Holy Grail would be to look at people who might be at risk, test their fecal microbiome, and if they show changes that point in the same direction, intervene early, when there are mostly symptoms at the level of the gut and the brain isn’t completely involved in the disease yet,” Appel-Cresswell says.
Appel-Cresswell is also motivated in her work by her father’s advanced-stage Alzheimer’s.
“It’s my personal mission to work on prevention of neurodegenerative diseases in general, especially with lifestyle interventions such as nutrition and exercise, given my family history and athletics background,” she says.
Reproduced with permission from Parkinson Canada.