Significant changes in the gut microbiota occur in the earliest stages of Parkinson’s disease, and a new study shows it can start before symptoms appear.
Narrowing down the culprits in our gut bacteria can lead to earlier diagnosis and also aid in the development of targeted treatments for the debilitating condition.
Researchers from China and Germany studied the bacteria in the gut of people with early Parkinson’s disease REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), their close relatives and healthy people.
Similar bacterial changes have been observed in the gut of people with RBD and those with Parkinson’s disease, with some beneficial bacteria becoming depleted and some harmful bacteria becoming more common. People closely related to those with RBD showed the same changes.
Neurologist Bei Huang of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and colleagues also identified 12 potential biomarkers that could help distinguish people with RBD from healthy individuals.
alpha synuclein Proteins are involved in signaling in healthy nerve cells, but we know that in Parkinson’s disease they form fibrous clumps that damage tissues and lead to symptoms such as loss of motor control and tremors. Evidence from animal experiments suggests This process begins in the gut and then moves to the brain.
“Given this enteric alpha-synuclein pathology and enteric nervous system Dysfunctions, particularly constipation, could occur decades before the onset of Parkinson’s disease, understanding the gut microbiota and host-microbiome interactions is crucial,” the researchers said write in their published work.
Up to 20 years ago When a patient develops Parkinson’s, they may have subtle problems with their senses, muscles and mind. A predictor is sleep disorders, especially RBD. Parkinson’s disease or a related condition such as multiple system atrophy or Dementia with Lewy bodieseventually manifests in the vast majority of RBD patients.
“REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is perceived as the most specific prodromal markers of Parkinson’s disease, write the authors. “Furthermore, a prodromal stage of RBD has been increasingly recognized, underscoring the importance of studying the gut microbiota at an even earlier prodromal stage.”
A Recent study found some of the features of RBD in close family members of RBD patients, along with digestive problems, suggesting that these individuals may harbor changes in gut bacteria. Therefore, scientists wondered if these relatives could hold the key to understanding the extremely early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
To find out, the researchers behind this latest research analyzed stool samples from 441 people in Hong Kong. They included people with RBD or a family history of the disease, people who had had Parkinson’s disease with motor symptoms for less than 5 years, and healthy people for comparison.
They found 84 families and 249 genera of bacteria and compared the bacterial diversity between the four different groups of people.
The analysis controlled for factors that could affect the results; functional constipation (difficulty passing stool) was more common in patients with early Parkinson’s disease than in those without the disease, as were certain medications.
The composition of the gut bacteria in the early Parkinson’s group differed significantly from the control group. And the bacterial composition of the RBD group was similar to that of the early Parkinson’s disease group but different from the control and RBD kindred groups.
These changes included a decrease in the bacteria that produce short chain fatty acids (SCFA) that maintain the intestinal barrier and have anti-inflammatory properties. your exhaustion can lead to higher intestinal permeability and subsequent aggregation of alpha-synuclein in the gut.
Another observation was a progressive increase in Collinsella Bacteria across groups from control to relatives of RBD to RBD patients to Parkinson’s disease. These pro-inflammatory bacteria can help make the gut more leaky. It was too associated with Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.
Huang and team then used machine learning to make predictions about the potential biomarkers for RBD. After removing less common and less common bacteria, 36 families and 88 genera remained, which were narrowed down to 12 that appeared in 60 percent or more of the RBD computer models.
You did the math too odds ratio, a research criterion used to identify people at risk for prodromal Parkinson’s disease. RBD patients were at greater risk than their family members or healthy controls.
The study has limitations, it is a small sample size and a cross-sectional study, which does not prove cause and effect. The groups with RBD or Parkinson’s disease and the control groups had more men and were on average older than the group of relatives of RBD patients.
But it is important research as early diagnosis is a major challenge in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately, by the time most people are diagnosed with the disease, they have lost between 60 and 80 percent of the dopamine-producing neurons in their brainstem.
The The World Health Organization estimates that over 8.5 million people have Parkinson’sthe second most common neurodegenerative disease Alzheimer.
“In summary,” the researchers said write“Gut dysbiosis is present at a much earlier stage, preceding the onset of RBD and Parkinson’s disease, underscoring the potential role of the gut microbiota.”
Future studies could examine factors such as gut metabolism and markers of inflammation to improve scientists’ understanding.
The research was published in nature communication.
