In early March 2020, The Cure Parkinson’s Trust presented a webinar about the role of inflammation in Parkinson’s disease (PD), featuring a panel of speakers including neurologists, a clinical researcher, and a dietitian who has PD. Their discussion included an overview of neuro-inflammation, or inflammation in the central nervous system; other inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); and current theories and research on the connections between immune function, inflammation, and PD.
Though this webinar is focused on PD, the connection between inflammation and the neurological disorders in the Brain Support Network community is an ongoing topic of interest.
Here’s one tidbit I found interesting from the webinar:
The presentation started with the questions, “What is inflammation, and is there any difference in inflammatory responses in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) compared to other people?” Your immune system mounts three main responses: clearing bacteria and viruses; removing dead and dying cells within tissues, whether in your brain, liver, or other areas; and sometimes, excessive activation of the immune system, when your immune system is hyper-vigilant and attacks cells and proteins in your body that it shouldn’t attack. In PD, researchers think this third function may be active.
Lauren Stroshane with Stanford Parkinson’s Community Outreach listened to the webinar and shared her notes here:
parkinsonsblog.stanford.edu/2020/03/inflammation-and-pd-webinar-notes/
This webinar was recorded and can be viewed on YouTube.
Robin