Researchers found that people with upper gastrointestinal conditions were far more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease later in life
Excerpt: “A new study adds to a growing body of evidence that Parkinson’s disease, long believed to have its origins in the brain, may begin in the gut. ‘People have, for the longest time, described Parkinson’s disease as a top-down disease — so, it starts in the brain and then percolates down to the gut, and that’s why patients have issues with their gastrointestinal tract,’ said study author Subhash Kulkarni, an assistant professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. ‘Another hypothesis suggests that, in many patients, it may be a bottom-up approach, where it starts in the gut and goes all the way up to the brain.’ Kulkarni and his colleagues found that people with upper gastrointestinal conditions — in particular, ulcers or other types of damage to the lining of the esophagus, stomach, or upper part of the small intestine — were far more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease later in life. The study was published online Thursday in JAMA Network Open.