The Damages Made by Helicobacter Pylori on Parkinson and Emerging Role of Nutrition in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a widespread degenerative illness impacting the human central, peripheral, and gastrointestinal nervous systems. The underlying pathological process progresses slowly but relentlessly and involves multiple neuronal systems. The disease is the consequence of changes in the neuronal cytoskeleton developing in only a few susceptible types of nerve cells. The cardinal features of PD are bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and postural instability. There are a number of neurologic conditions that mimic the disease, making it difficult to diagnose in its early stages. Physicians who rarely diagnose PD should refer patients suspected of having it to physicians with more experience in making the diagnosis, and should periodically reevaluate the accuracy of the diagnosis. Several studies have shown associations between PD risk and individual foods and nutrients with inconsistent results is now clear that genetic susceptibility and environmental factors play a role in disease etiology and progression. Because environmental factors are involved with the majority of the cases of PD, it is important to understand the role nutrition plays in both neuroprotection and neurodegeneration. Helicobacter pylori has been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. Its eradication, in a randomized placebo-controlled trial, improved PD inactive Helicobacter species zoonosis might explain excess mortality from PD and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in livestock, but not arable, farmers. Indeed, Helicobacter is causally-associated with gastric lymphoma.