Gastro problems could heighten Parkinson's disease risk by 76%: Study

Digestive problems, including ulcers in one's food pipe or stomach, could increase the risk of Parkinson's disease by 76 per cent, according to a new study.

Analysing endoscopy reports of 9,350 patients, the authors found that people having upper gastrointestinal conditions -- specifically, ulcers or other types of damage to the lining of the oesophagus, stomach, or upper part of the small intestine -- were far more likely to develop Parkinson's disease later in life.

These findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open Researchers add to a growing body of evidence that ageing-related or neurodegenerative disease, long thought to originate in the brain, could begin in the gut.

Gastrointestinal problems are known to be common in patients suffering from neurodegenerative disorders, the authors said.

The researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, US, said that gastrointestinal troubles experienced by patients of Parkinson's disease of