It's possible that the bacterium that lives in water is responsible for the development of Parkinson's disease.
New research indicates that Desulfovibrio bacteria cause nematode worm protein aggregation. Desulfovibrio abundance is associated to Parkinson's severity. The authors believe Desulfovibrio strains infect most Parkinson's patients. Parkinson’s condition, the second most common neurological condition, affects over eight million people. As the world's population ages, this number will climb rapidly. New research says otherwise.
Desulfovibrio bacteria from Parkinson's patients' stomachs caused Caenorhabditis elegans worms to aggregate α-synuclein protein. Parkinson's and other sufferers' brains and spinal cords clump this normally occurring nerve protein. Parkinson's has long been connected to gut microorganisms. Parkinson's patients' bacteria produce constipation in mice, which can be addressed with drugs. Parkinson's sufferers' gut microorganisms differ from healthy persons, but no cause was uncovered.
The study authors suggest Desulfovibrio, however if all Desulfovibrio caused the illness, it would have been solved long ago. 80% of healthy controls had Desulfovibrionaceae, but Parkinson's sufferers have more. Desulfovibrio was cultured from ten Parkinson's patients and their healthy spouses' feces. C. elegans was fed Desulfovibrio from patients and controls. E. coli-fed C. elegans produced a new control.
α-synuclein-producing Desulfovibrio-fed worms perished early. Desulfovibrio-fed worms had α-synuclein aggregates like E. coli-fed ones. Patients and spouses had D. fairfieldensis. Desulfovibrio species like D. fairfieldensis may have dangerous and innocuous strains. Hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg gas) from desulfovibrio may cause protein aggregation. α-synuclein may cluster due to H2S-induced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. "Only a small share, or roughly 10%, of Parkinson's disease is caused by individual genes," said research author Professor Per Saris of the University of Helsinki. Researchers consider Parkinson's Disease a syndrome.
Desulfovibrio causes irritable bowel syndrome, blood infections, and Parkinson's disease, making it undesirable. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology published it.