Dopaminergic neurodegeneration in cultivated with .

Disruption of the human microbiome has emerged as a major contributing factor in the etiology of neurodegenerative disease. Previous work suggests a positive correlation between periodontal inflammation and Parkinson's disease. Here, we show that feeding animals causes neurodegeneration that is not additive with neurodegeneration induced by the Parkinson's-associated protein, α-synuclein. In contrast, α-synuclein-expressing animals fed show additional disruption in basal slowing, suggesting that induces neurodegeneration while altering neuronal function of extant neurons. Though the mechanism is unclear, these results suggest a relationship between and neurodegeneration that warrants further investigation.