Flutterby™! : Parkinson's and bacteria

Caltech: Parkinson's Disease Linked to Microbiome:

To test this, the researchers utilized mice that overproduce αSyn and display symptoms of Parkinson's. One group of mice had a complex consortium of gut bacteria; the others, called germ-free mice, were bred in a completely sterile environment at Caltech and thus lacked gut bacteria. The researchers had both groups of mice perform several tasks to measure their motor skills, such as running on treadmills, crossing a beam, and descending from a pole. The germ-free mice performed significantly better than the mice with a complete microbiome.

The paper is "Gut Microbiota Regulate Motor Deficits and Neuroinflammation in a Model of Parkinson's Disease."