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Clinical therapeutic effects of probiotics in patients with constipation associated with Parkinson disease

Constipation is the most predominant symptom of Parkinson disease (PD), preceding the occurrence of motor symptoms in some patients, leading to reduced quality of life (QOL). The general approaches for the treatment have some side effects, but probiotics are live or attenuated microorganisms attributed to ameliorating constipation effects. Moreover, as treatments are generally well tolerated and side […]

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Shining light on the head: Photobiomodulation for brain disorders

Photobiomodulation (PBM) describes the use of red or near-infrared light to stimulate, heal, regenerate, and protect tissue that has either been injured, is degenerating, or else is at risk of dying. One of the organ systems of the human body that is most necessary to life, and whose optimum functioning is most worried about by

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Is Red Light a Missing Nutrient for Our Health? Podcast with Dr. Michael Hamblin

Light is essential to life as we know it. Plants rely upon sunlight to generate chemical energy, which is stored in their tissues and fuels various life processes. In turn, animals like us convert the energy from the food that we eat into mechanical energy.  Furthermore, we depend upon light energy entering our eyes in order

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Metabolic Strategies in Healthcare: A New Era

Modern healthcare systems are founded on a disease-centric paradigm, which has conferred manynotable successes against infectious disorders in the past. However, today’s leading causes of death are dominatedby non-infectious “lifestyle” disorders, broadly represented by the metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, cancer,and neurodegeneration. Our disease-centric paradigm regards these disorders as distinct disease processes,caused and driven by disease targets

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Short-chain fatty acids as modulators of redox signaling in health and disease

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), produced by colonic bacteria and obtained from the diet, have been linked to beneficial effects on human health associated with their metabolic and signaling properties. Their physiological functions are related to their aliphatic tail length and dependent on the activation of specific membrane receptors. In this review, we focus on the mechanisms underlying

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Microbiota-derived acetate enables the metabolic fitness of the brain innate immune system during health and disease

As tissue macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS), microglia constitute the pivotal immune cells of this organ. Microglial features are strongly dependent on environmental cues such as commensal microbiota. Gut bacteria are known to continuously modulate microglia maturation and function by the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). However, the precise mechanism of this crosstalk is unknown. Here we determined that

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The role of the host microbiome in autism and neurodegenerative disorders and effect of epigenetic procedures in the brain functions

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a severe neurological/neurodegenerative syndrome that results in cognitive and communication disorders. The degree of dysbiosis is related to the severity of ASD signs. The gut is conferred with a variety of sensory receptors that cooperate with effector systems including the endocrine, nervous and gut immune systems of the intestine. Gut

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Gut Feelings: The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis on Steroids

The intricate connection between central and enteric nervous systems is well established with emerging evidence linking gut microbiota function as a significant new contributor to gut-brain axis signaling. Several microbial signals contribute to altered gut-brain communications, with steroids representing an important biological class that impacts central and enteric nervous system function. Neuroactive steroids contribute pathologically

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Association between CSF alpha-synuclein seeding activity and genetic status in Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies

The clinicopathological heterogeneity in Lewy-body diseases (LBD) highlights the need for pathology-driven biomarkers in-vivo. Misfolded alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) is a lead candidate based on its crucial role in disease pathophysiology. Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) analysis of CSF has recently shown high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of misfolded α-Syn in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and

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Environmental neurotoxicants and inflammasome activation in Parkinson’s disease – a focus on the gut-brain axis

Inflammasomes are multi-protein complexes expressed in immune cells that function as intracellular sensors of environmental, metabolic and cellular stress. Inflammasome activation in the brain, has been shown to drive neuropathology and disease progression by multiple mechanisms, making it one of the most attractive therapeutic targets for disease modification in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Extensive inflammasome activation

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