Electrified acupuncture shown to help ease gut issues in Parkinson’s mice
New research links disease's digestive problems to reduced nerve cell activity
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- 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.
Testing electroacupuncture in a Parkinson’s mouse model
Parkinson’s is marked by the formation of toxic clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein, which damage certain nerve cells in the brain. Although gut dysmotility affects most people with Parkinson’s, scientists do not fully understand the biological mechanisms that drive this symptom.
Seeking to learn more, a team of scientists in China conducted a series of experiments in multiple mouse models of Parkinson’s.
The team found that alpha-synuclein protein clumps can disrupt the activity of cholinergic neurons, which are nerve cells that produce a signaling chemical called acetylcholine. Specifically, the scientists discovered that these protein clumps reduced the activity of cholinergic neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, known as the DMV.
Decreasing the activity of cholinergic neurons in the DMV led to gut dysmotility — just like what’s seen in people with Parkinson’s — suggesting that the abnormal activity of these specific nerve cells may drive this symptom.
“Inhibiting DMV neuronal activity was sufficient to induce gut motility dysfunction, whereas activating DMV neurons [in mice with Parkinson’s] effectively reversed the symptoms,” the scientists wrote.
According to the team, “these results suggested that enhancing DMV excitability represents a viable therapeutic strategy” for easing this gut problem.
Our findings … suggest that [electroacupuncture used at a specific point on the body] could serve as a promising therapeutic strategy [for easing gut issues in Parkinson’s].
The researchers then tested whether this reduced nerve cell activity might be countered using electroacupuncture. This physical therapy treatment combines acupuncture, in which thin needles are inserted into the skin at strategic points on the body, and electrostimulation.
The team found that electroacupuncture applied at a specific point called ST36, which is located just below the knee, can activate cholinergic neurons in the DMV and ease gut motility in Parkinson’s mouse models.
“Our findings demonstrate that [reduced activity of cholinergic neurons in the DMV] is a key driver of [Parkinson’s disease]-related gut dysmotility and suggest that [electroacupuncture] at ST36 could serve as a promising therapeutic strategy,” the scientists wrote.
The researchers highlighted a need for more studies to better understand the biological mechanisms at play and move this strategy toward testing in people.
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