Sep 4, 2026
New research links disease's digestive problems to reduced nerve cell activity
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Aug. 25, 2026
- Digestive problems in Parkinson's are linked to decreased nerve cell activity in the brain, new research in animals suggests.
- Electrified acupuncture applied at a specific point below the knee was shown to restore nerve cell activity and ease gut issues in mouse models.
- More preclinical studies are needed to move this strategy toward testing in people with Parkinson's, the researchers noted.
Digestive problems in Parkinson’s disease may be explained by the reduced activity of a specific type of nerve cells, called cholinergic neurons, in a particular brain region that helps regulate unconscious body functions, including digestion, a new study using a mouse model suggests.
The scientists say diminished activity of these neurons in that brain region, called the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, may slow the movement of food through the body, known as gut motility.
But new research in the animal models suggests that electroacupuncture — a type of acupuncture in which an electric charge is delivered through the needle — can restore the normal activity of these nerve cells and improve gut motility. In the mice, the electroacupuncture was applied at a specific point just below the knee.
“These findings highlight a circuit-specific mechanism and a promising neuromodulatory strategy for treating this debilitating gut symptom of [Parkinson’s],” the researchers wrote.
Still, more preclinical studies are needed before this treatment can be tested in people with the neurodegenerative disease, the team noted.
The study, “Impaired brain-gut circuit for gut motility dysfunction in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal Cell Reports.
In all humans, the digestive system is surrounded by muscles that help to push food through it. People with Parkinson’s, however, often experience gut dysmotility, where the movement of food through the digestive tract is slowed. This can result in problems such as constipation, which is a common nonmotor symptom of the disease.
Sep 2, 2026
Researchers find fewer friendly microbes in patients carrying the GBA1 mutation
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Aug. 26, 2026
- Parkinson's disease patients with GBA1 gene mutations tend to have distinct shifts in the gut microbiome, with fewer protective microbes and more inflammation-promoting bacteria.
- Mutation carriers exhibit reduced anti-inflammatory butyrate-producing bacteria alongside elevated levels of microbes linked to gut inflammation.
- Further validation studies are needed to better understand the gut-microbiota-brain axis and its impact on Parkinson's progression.
People with Parkinson’s disease who carry mutations in the GBA1 gene tend to have higher levels of inflammation-promoting gut bacteria and fewer protective microbes than patients without the mutation, according to a new study.
While the overall diversity of gut bacteria remained similar between both groups, researchers uncovered key differences in specific bacterial strains that could influence how the disease progresses.
“This study suggests a subtle shift toward a more pro-inflammatory gut microbial profile in [Parkinson’s patients carrying GBA1 mutations], characterized by fewer butyrate-producing and more pro-inflammatory bacteria,” researchers noted.
The study, “Pathogenic GBA1 Variants and their Interaction with the Gut-Microbiota-Brain Axis in Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in Movement Disorders.
Genetics and the gut microbiome
The causes of Parkinson’s disease are not fully understood, but genetics is thought to play a role in determining disease risk. Mutations in the GBA1 gene are a well-established risk factor for Parkinson’s, and they can also cause a separate disorder called Gaucher disease.
The human digestive tract is home to billions of bacteria and other microscopic organisms, collectively known as the gut microbiome. A growing body of evidence suggests that the gut microbiome is dysregulated in Parkinson’s disease and may play a role in its development. However, much about the microbiome and its role in Parkinson’s remains unclear.
In the study, a team of U.S. scientists sought to determine whether the microbiome is altered in people with Parkinson’s who carry a mutation in the GBA1 gene. To find out, they conducted detailed analyses of stool samples from 36 patients: 16 with a GBA1 mutation and 20 without known Parkinson’s risk mutations.
Analyses showed that the gut microbiome’s overall diversity and community composition were comparable in Parkinson’s patients with or without GBA1 mutations. However, the researchers noted “subtle but potentially biologically relevant … differences.”
Sep 1, 2026
News Medical Life Sciences - The University of Oulu - Aug 26 2026
A new study from the University of Oulu suggests that gut bacteria may send different biological signals in Parkinson’s disease. The findings add to growing evidence that changes in the gut could be linked to Parkinson’s disease and may eventually help researchers identify new underlying mechanisms for the condition.
Rather than looking only at which bacteria are present in the gut, the researchers focused on the biological messages they send. Gut bacteria release extracellular vesicles, tiny particles that carry proteins and other molecules and can travel between cells, likely extending the microbial signaling beyond the gut.
The study, published in iScience, found that people with Parkinson’s disease had more of these vesicles in their stool samples than healthy individuals. The vesicles were also larger on average and carried a different mix of bacterial proteins, suggesting that microbial communication may be altered in the disease.
Microbiome research has traditionally focused on which bacteria are present and how their relative abundance changes. Our findings suggest that we should also ask what these bacteria are sending out into the body.”
Anatoliy Samoylenko, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oulu and author of the study
The researchers analyzed faecal samples from 20 people with Parkinson’s disease and 19 healthy controls. They isolated extracellular vesicles produced by the gut microbiota and characterized them using nanoparticle tracking analysis, electron microscopy, 16S rRNA sequencing and mass spectrometry-based proteomics.
The analyses revealed differences between the Parkinson’s disease and control groups at several levels. Both the gut microbiota itself and the vesicles it produced showed distinct bacterial compositions. The vesicles from people with Parkinson’s disease also carried a different set of proteins.
Aug 31, 2026
Do different relationships among stimuli matter?
Written by Doc Irish | Aug. 26, 2026
One of the strangest things about living with Parkinson’s disease is how inconsistent it can be.
A movement that feels nearly impossible one moment can sometimes become easier a few seconds later. A person may struggle to initiate a step but then walk fluidly once they get going. A line on the floor, a rhythmic sound, a change in attention, or some other external cue can occasionally alter what the body seems capable of doing.
I keep coming back to the same question: If the machinery is completely broken, why can changing the context sometimes change the performance?
I don’t think that question has a simple answer. Parkinson’s is enormously complex, and dopamine, the basal ganglia, motor circuits, sensory processing, cognition, and many other systems are involved. I’m certainly not proposing that all of Parkinson’s can be reduced to one explanation.
But I increasingly wonder whether coordination deserves more attention as part of the picture.
We usually think about disease by asking which individual part is malfunctioning. Which molecule? Which neuron? Which brain region? Which pathway?
Those are essential questions. But there is another kind of failure that can occur even when individual parts retain some ability to function: the parts may stop working together properly.
Think about an orchestra. Every musician might still be capable of playing. But if their timing, sequencing, volume, or responsiveness to one another begins to drift, the music falls apart.
Nothing necessarily has to disappear. The relationships can fail.
Aug 28, 2026
Small trial finds Tai Chi and resistance-stretching offer different benefits
Written by Patricia Inácio, PhD | Aug. 14, 2026
- Tai Chi may improve motor symptoms, physical function, and quality of life in early to mid-stage Parkinson’s disease.
- Tai Chi appeared particularly beneficial for motor control, balance, and muscular endurance.
- Findings support tailoring exercise programs to patients’ specific rehabilitation needs.
Practicing Tai Chi four times a week may lessen motor symptoms and improve physical function and quality of life in people with early- to mid-stage Parkinson’s disease, a small clinical trial found.
A program combining resistance and stretching exercises produced similar overall improvements in motor symptoms, but each approach appeared to have different strengths. Tai Chi appeared to have relatively greater benefits for muscular endurance, motor control, and balance, while resistance-stretching exercise showed more consistent effects on strength, mobility, and functional performance.
“These findings highlight the value of tailoring exercise interventions to individual rehabilitation needs,” the researchers wrote.
Exercise may help fill treatment gaps in Parkinson’s
The study, “Effects of Tai Chi on core motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease: A three-armed randomized controlled trial,” was published in the journal Behavioural Brain Research.
Parkinson’s is caused by the progressive loss of nerve cells that produce dopamine, a chemical messenger that helps control movement. Motor symptoms can include slowness of movement, muscle rigidity, tremor, balance problems, and difficulty walking.
While current treatments, such as levodopa, can ease several motor symptoms, they may be less effective for balance, posture, and other symptoms involving the body’s central axis. Exercise and rehabilitation can therefore be used alongside medication to help preserve mobility and independence.
Tai Chi is a mind-body exercise that combines slow, coordinated movements, controlled weight shifting, and attention to posture. Resistance exercises work muscles against a load to build strength, while stretching helps improve flexibility and range of motion.
Despite growing support for exercise-based rehabilitation in Parkinson’s, most studies have examined one type of exercise at a time, with few directly comparing Tai Chi and combined resistance-stretching exercise. Whether different forms of exercise affect specific motor symptoms differently also remains unclear.
With this in mind, researchers in China conducted a small, prospective, randomized pilot trial involving 45 adults ages 45 to 75 with early- to mid-stage disease. All could stand and walk independently, with or without an assistive device, and had been taking a stable medication regimen for at least a month.
Aug 27, 2026
A new study shows that a common virus can induce Parkinson’s-like brain damage and movement problems.
June 29, 2026 By Ann Kellett, Texas A&M University School of Public Health
Scientists usually use animal models when studying Parkinson’s disease because these models mimic the disease well. They are limited, however, because they require either gene modifications or the injection of toxicants, which may not accurately represent how the disease occurs in humans.
But now, researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a model that uses a nontoxic way to generate the symptoms of Parkinson’s: infection with a virus called Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), a natural pathogen in mice.
Their study is a game changer because it proves that a simple viral infection can trigger the exact brain damage and physical disabilities in animal models that are seen in people with Parkinson’s disease — and it sets the stage for additional studies.
“The toxic-exposure models are useful for studying Parkinson’s, but not all people who are exposed to chemicals go on to develop Parkinson’s, so these models cannot show all the ways a disease as complex as Parkinson’s actually begins or develops over time in people,” said Candice Brinkmeyer-Langford, a neurogenerative disease expert with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health at Texas A&M Health.
Parkinson’s affects more than 10 million people worldwide, making it second only to dementia among brain disorders. It destroys the cells that produce dopamine, a chemical essential for smooth body movement, leading to problems with balance and walking, tremors in the hands or fingers and overall stiffness, as well as mental or emotional distress.
Its origins are unknown, but for decades, experts have believed that the disease could be triggered by the brain inflammation caused by viruses — even those contracted decades earlier — as well as by a combination of a person’s genetics and environmental factors. This idea recently was affirmed by Brinkmeyer-Langford and others at Texas A&M in the case of another devastating motor neuron disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
“Viruses are known to cause entirely different diseases based on a person’s genetics,” she said. “For example, the Epstein-Barr virus causes mononucleosis, but may also contribute to cancer or multiple sclerosis, and SARS-CoV-2 can attack the heart and brain as well as the lungs.”
Recent Comments