Cited by 395Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and TreatmentsNuclear Receptors and SignalingNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Exploring Braak’s hypothesis of Parkinson’s disease

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Rietdijk, Carmen D., Perez-Pardo, Paula, Garssen, Johan, van Wezel, Richard J. A., Kraneveld, Aletta D.·2017·Frontiers in Neurology

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no cure. Most patients suffer from sporadic PD, which is likely caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Braak’s hypothesis states that sporadic PD is caused by a pathogen that enters the body via the nasal cavity, and subsequently is swallowed and reaches the gut, initiating Lewy pathology (LP) in the nose and the digestive tract. A staging system describing the spread of LP from the peripheral to the central nervous system was also postulated by the same research group. There has been criticism to the Braak’s hypothesis, in part because not all patients follow the proposed staging system. Here, we review literature that either supports or criticizes the Braak’s hypothesis, focused on the enteric route, digestive problems in patients, the spread of LP on a tissue and a cellular level, and the toxicity of the protein αSynuclein (αSyn), which is the major constituent of LP. We conclude that the Braak’s hypothesis is supported by in vitro, in vivo and clinical evidence. However, we also conclude that the staging system of Braak only describes a specific subset of patients with young onset and long duration of the disease.

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Crossref · 10.3389/fneur.2017.00037

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  • GI symptoms may predate motor features of Parkinson disease by years, consistent with the concept that α-synuclein pathology can involve the ENS and vagal/brainstem autonomic nuclei early in disease.

    “GI symptoms may predate motor features by years, consistent with the concept that α-synuclein pathology can involve the ENS and vagal/brainstem autonomic nuclei early in disease (Rietdijk et al., 2017; Travagli et al., 2020).”

    From Autonomic nervous system and gastrointestinal manifestations with an emphasis on gastric dysfunction (2026) · cites this paper as Rietdijk et al., 2017

    The “Preclinical and Clinical Evidence” section says digestive complaints can occur before motor symptoms and reports Lewy pathology in the ENS. The “Enteric Route: αSyn Spreading via Vagal Nerve” section describes pathology in the vagal nerve and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus early in the proposed progression. The copy does not specify that GI symptoms precede motor features by years; no page numbers are available in the indexed passages. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Rietdijk, C. D., Perez-Pardo, P., Garssen, J., van Wezel, R. J. A., & Kraneveld, A. D.
Affiliations
Utrecht University (NL)
Corresponding author
Kraneveld, Aletta D.
Venue
Frontiers in Neurology
Published
2017-02-13
Volume
8
Pages
37-37
ISSN
1664-2295 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2588841770
Cited by
395
References
153
Citations by year
2026: 41 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 65 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 10
FWCI
3.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Neurology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • University of Twente Research Information (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Nuclear Receptors and Signaling
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
Parkinson's disease, Braak hypothesis, Lewy body pathology, sporadic Parkinson's disease, gut-brain axis, alpha-synuclein toxicity, Lewy bodies, neurodegeneration, early-onset Parkinson's disease

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