A theory very interesting and fascinating came from a large Danish epidemiological study
published online July 17 in the Annals of Neurology that supports the theory that Parkinson’s
disease (PD) may begin by the gastrointestinal tract and spread through the vagus nerve to
the brain.
The researchers found that patients who have had all the vagus nerve cut were less likely to
develop Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers said that their risk was halved after 20 years; whereas patients with a small
part severed were not protected.
The assumptions and studies, more and more, on the relationship between gut and brain, also
confirmed by the studies of the Nobel Prize Luc Montagnier in relations with
neurodegenerative diseases and the presence of neurotropic agents trasmissed, lead to the
conclusion of the importance of our ” second brain “to influence both the behaviour and the
neuro-psycho-physiological balance.
In the past vagotomy was commonly performed in cases of peptic ulcer with two of the most
common procedures: the trunk vagotomy and selective vagotomy.
They were made on the basis of data of the Register of Danish patients who suffered in the
time the two vagotomies: the risk for PD was lower after vagotomy trunk than the general
population.
The risk for PD in patients who had had a highly selective vagotomy was similar to that of the
general population control.
These results, the researchers say, suggest that having an intact vagus nerve increases the risk
of developing Parkinson’s disease.
The finding is in agreement with a primary disease process that is initiated in the
gastrointestinal mucosa, which then uses the vagus as an important point of entry into the
brain.
According to many neurologists, the conclusion is plausible, especially because it confirms the
theories of Braak et al., that suggested the importance of a neuro-pathogenic, present in the
gastric mucosa, which may travel through vagal afferent fibers, resulting in disease and the
presence of Lewy bodies bound in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve and
glossopharyngeal.
This research is very promising for discovering new phases and developments for a better
understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.