Ghrelin & Parkinson's disease

Stomach hormone related to Parkinson’s disease
A new found way to slow the advancement of Parkinson disease

A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience reveals that ghrelin, a hormone produced in the stomach, may be used to slow the onset of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the central nervous system leading to the degeneration and impairment of sufferers' motor skills, speech, and physical movements. It occurs due to the loss of nerve cells in a part of the brain known as the substantia nigra.
Neurons in the midbrain produce a chemical known as dopamine, which allows messages to be sent to parts of the brain that synchronize movement in the body. When the dopamine-producing cells fail, leading to a typical loss of about 80% of the dopamine, the symptoms of Parkinson’s appear. Parts of the brain are unable to function normally, thus gradually leading to deterioration in the function of the body.
The first symptoms include tremor in one hand, followed by slowness of movement (bradykinesia), difficulty in initiating movements, and muscle stiffness. Further symptoms include stress, decreased arm swing, impaired balance, gait freezing, sleep disturbances, urinary problems, constipation and depression.

Ghrelin

Ghrelin, a hormone produced in the stomach, has been associated with growth hormones, learning and memory, and is known to stimulate the appetite centers in the brain. Its function is to tell the brain that the body needs food, and its secretion regulates food intake. Ghrelin also activates the concentration of dopamine in the substantia nigra. Hence, ghrelin has may prove useful in slowing the onset of Parkinson's disease.
Ghrelin's influence was shown in a study conducted by Yale School of Medicine (YSM) researcher Tamas Horvath and colleagues. Ghrelin supplements were given to healthy mice and mice that were deficient in ghrelin hormone and in the ghrelin receptor. When compared to controls, mice with impaired ghrelin action in the brain had a higher loss of dopamine. Horvath, professor of comparative medicine, neurobiology and obstetrics & gynaecology, says the results could be easily translated to human use because the ghrelin system is replicated in the human body.

Conclusion of the study

Although it is unknown why and how the dopamine cells begin to decrease, researchers claim ghrelin supplements may offer a way to slow the advancement of the disease, if not eradicate it completely.
"Because this hormone originates from the stomach, it is circulating normally in the body, so it could easily be used to boost resistance to Parkinson's or it could be used to slow the development of the disease,” Horvath says.