My PD Story

Exploring Gut Health Biomarkers as Early Indicators for Parkinson’s  

The ability to identify Parkinson’s disease (PD) in people before the onset of progressing movement and cognitive changes is a major goal of PD research. Through retrospective studies, some early symptoms have been routinely noted in people years prior to their PD diagnoses, making them potential flags for catching the disease sooner. Gastroparesis, which consists of bloating and nausea, is an example of a symptom experienced earlier in life by a large majority of those with PD. However, this condition is also common amongst people who never develop PD, making it difficult to use as a reliable PD indicator without more data.  

Trisha Pasricha, MD, and recipient of a Parkinson’s Foundation Impact Award, aims to compare the gut biology of those with and without PD using innovative new technology, to discover the biomarkers of PD-linked gastroparesis that will improve future diagnoses. 

Previous research into the active biology of the gut has been limited due to the difficulty in collecting useful tissue samples from live donors. Fortunately, recent technological advances in biopsy collection tools now allow researchers like Dr. Pasricha to safely obtain “full-thickness” gut tissue samples with more deeper layers of the gut wall for study.  

From her lab at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, Dr. Pasricha will analyze the gastric biology of full-thickness gut tissue samples collected from: 

• People with PD in all stages 

• People with gastroparesis, without PD  

• People without either condition  

Each layer of the gut wall consists of a diverse mix of muscle, connective tissue, neurons and immune cells. Dr. Pasricha, using a wide range of measurement tools and techniques, will investigate which cell types in which layers are most differentially impacted in PD gastroparesis compared to non-PD gastroparesis. The goal of these comparisons is to highlight potential gut biomarkers that will allow future physicians to spot PD earlier from initial gastrointestinal issues.  

She will also compare these biomarker results to clinical assessments from the tissue donors with PD, looking for correlations between gut health and disease severity to further explore the link between the two. 

As a clinician working directly with people with PD experiencing gastrointestinal issues, Dr. Pasricha is inspired to receive the Parkinson’s Foundation grant and motivated to begin this translational research.  

“I have met countless patients living with Parkinson's who seek my help treating their gastrointestinal symptoms,” she said. “I am grateful that because of this award I will be able share with my patients that I am part of the community of scientists working to address the bigger unmet needs of patients like themselves. These findings may be leveraged toward establishing future gastrointestinal biomarkers or therapeutic targets to help alleviate those suffering from this disease.” 

Meet more Parkinson’s researchers! Explore our My PD Stories featuring PD researchers.