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Is Parkinson’s disease a chronic low-grade inflammatory bowel disease?

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Abstract

While the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease is not fully understood, there is increasing evidence that inflammatory responses in the brain are implicated in both disease initiation and progression. The inflammatory process in Parkinson’s disease is, however, not limited to the brain but also involves the gastrointestinal tract. High amounts of cytokines and inflammatory markers are found in the colon of Parkinson’s disease patients and there is now strong epidemiological and genetical evidence linking Parkinson’s disease to inflammatory bowel diseases. Recent findings obtained in both experimental inflammatory bowel diseases and Parkinson’s disease further support a bidirectional link between gastrointestinal inflammation and brain neurodegeneration. Altogether, these observations suggest a role for gastrointestinal inflammation in the initiation and progression of Parkinson’s disease.

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Acknowledgements

Work in our laboratory was supported by Institut de France (Fondation NRJ), France Parkinson, CECAP (Comité d’Entente et de Coordination des Associations de Parkinsoniens), ADPLA (Association des Parkinsoniens de Loire Atlantique), FFPG (Fédération française des groupements parkinsoniens) and Parkinsoniens de Vendée.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inserm, U1235, 1 rue Gaston Veil, 44035, Nantes, France

    Malvyne Rolli-Derkinderen, Laurène Leclair-Visonneau, Arnaud Bourreille, Emmanuel Coron, Michel Neunlist & Pascal Derkinderen

  2. University Nantes, 44093, Nantes, France

    Malvyne Rolli-Derkinderen, Laurène Leclair-Visonneau, Arnaud Bourreille, Emmanuel Coron, Michel Neunlist & Pascal Derkinderen

  3. CHU Nantes, Institut des Maladies de l’Appareil Digestif, 44093, Nantes, France

    Malvyne Rolli-Derkinderen, Arnaud Bourreille, Emmanuel Coron & Michel Neunlist

  4. Department of Physiology, CHU Nantes, 44093, Nantes, France

    Laurène Leclair-Visonneau

  5. Department of Neurology, CHU Nantes, 44093, Nantes, France

    Pascal Derkinderen

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  1. Malvyne Rolli-Derkinderen
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Correspondence to Pascal Derkinderen.

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Rolli-Derkinderen, M., Leclair-Visonneau, L., Bourreille, A. et al. Is Parkinson’s disease a chronic low-grade inflammatory bowel disease?. J Neurol 267, 2207–2213 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-019-09321-0

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