What Is Parkinsons Disease
Parkinsons Disease is a progressive neurological disorder which affects around 120,000 people in the UK. Progressive means that it typically worsens over time and neurological means that it affects the nervous system . The main symptoms of Parkinsons are slowness of movement , rigidity, tremor and postural instability . While Parkinsons is typically described as a movement disorder, a person with Parkinsons may experience a range of other symptoms including constipation, low mood, fatigue, sleep and memory problems. Symptoms of Parkinsons can be grouped into two major categories motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms .
Parkinsons typically strikes in middle age, with around 80% of cases presenting between ages of 40 and 70, and progression of symptoms is generally slow and continuous. Younger people who develop Parkinsons are more likely to have a relative with the illness suggesting a stronger genetic component. Symptoms usually begin gradually and motor symptoms are often preceded by non-motor symptoms such as fatigue, loss of smell, depression, constipation and sweating abnormalities.
If you are concerned that you or a friend or family member has symptoms of Parkinsons, you or they should see a GP immediately.
Current Gaps And Future Directions
Modification of the gut microbiome and/or metabolome using dietary,62 probiotics, and other approaches may provide new therapeutic, and possibly even preventative,63 options in PD. However, there currently remain many knowledge gaps surrounding the use of probiotics in PD. These offer a rich ground for further studies.
For a start, welldesigned and highresolution investigations on the gut microbiome and especially functional alterations in PD need to be conducted, and their findings need to be replicated and further dissected . In the general probiotic field, insights into probiotic mechanisms of action have mostly been gleaned from in vitro, cell culture, or animal studies,38 and future research should also incorporate studies investigating their actions in humans .39
The clinical effects of probiotic supplementation on important PD features, including parkinsonian motor disability, motor response complications , and other common nonmotor symptoms such as cognitive impairment, depression, anxiety, and psychosis, are important areas for further research. Longerterm studies examining probiotic efficacy and safety are needed, although these may be quite challenging to perform, particularly in PD . Another major barrier in PD clinical research has been the lack of reliable biomarkers for measuring disease severity and, therefore, the need to rely on clinical rating scales with their inherent limitations.60, 64, 65, 66, 67
Search Results And Study Characteristics
Figure 1 displays the study selection flowchart. Our initial search yielded 151 studies, 19 of which were eliminated because of duplication. The remaining 132 studies were subjected to title and abstract screening, and 118 were excluded. The final 14 studies were entered in the full text review. Two studies were excluded because they were conference posters, and another four were excluded because they reported on ongoing clinical trials. The remaining eight clinical trials, including two open-label, single-arm studies and six eligible RCTs , were included in the review. These studies were published between 2011 and 2021 and had sample sizes ranging from 25 to 120 PwP. All eight studies recruited PwP who had idiopathic PD diagnoses, and five of the studies specifically enrolled patients with functional constipation. The composition, amount, and treatment duration of probiotics varied, but Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium were administered in most of the studies. Adverse events were reported in 6 studies, including bloating, abdominal distention, dizziness and lethargy. All of the adverse events were reversible and there was no serious adverse event noted .
Figure 1.Study selection flowchart .
Table 1. Characteristics of the included clinical trials.
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Potential Roles And Mechanistic Effects Of Probiotics
Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits to the host.37 The therapeutic and prophylactic effects of probiotic administration are thought to be mediated through a wide assortment of mechanisms, which have been well described elsewhere,37, 38, 39 and are briefly summarized here.
The host gut microbiota can be impacted by probiotic supplementation through competition , antagonism, and crossfeeding.37, 38 The formation of biofilms by probiotic bacteria promotes colonization and longer permanence in the mucosa of the host and avoids the attachment of pathogenic bacteria.40 Many probiotic strains are antagonistic toward other microorganisms due to the production of organic acids , which lower luminal pH, and also bacteriocins, which inhibit pathogens in the human gut and urinary tract.41 Interestingly, supplementation with Lactobacillus probiotics during Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy has been found to improve eradication efficacy, presumably due to their antagonistic activity against H. pylori.42 Crossfeeding between probiotic bacteria and host microbiota can promote the production of SCFAs such as butyrate in the gut, with benefits as described above.38
Gut Bacteria Could Guard Against Parkinsons
New research suggests that a bacteria which boosts digestive health can slow and even reverse the build-up of a protein associated with Parkinsons.
Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee have identified a probiotic or so-called good bacteria which prevents the build-up of a protein which is linked with Parkinsons. In people with Parkinsons, alpha-synuclein protein builds up and forms toxic clumps which are associated with the death of dopamine producing nerve cells. The loss of dopamine is what causes motor symptoms in Parkinsons.
Using roundworms, scientists found that a probiotic called Bacillus subtilis could not only protect against the build-up of this protein, but can also clear some of the already formed protein clumps.
These new findings could pave the way for future studies that gauge how supplements such as probiotics impact Parkinsons.
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Probiotics Treatment For Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review And Meta
Chien-Tai Hong1,2,, Jia-Hung Chen1,, Tsai-Wei Huang3,4,5,6,,
- 1 Department of Neurology, Shuang-Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- 2 Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 3 School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 4 Department of Nursing, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 5 Center for Nursing and Healthcare Research in Clinical Practice Application, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 6 Cochrane Taiwan, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Received: May 20, 2022 Accepted: August 24, 2022 Published: September 9, 2022
A New Type Of Probiotic
Symprove is an oral drinkable probiotic that claims to be able to deliver live bacteria to the lower gut and it has a rather interesting backstory with roots in the farmyard.
Back in 1986, Barry Smith, an ex-military nurse, was concerned about what might be in the food he was giving his animals, and how antibiotics might be wiping out good bacteria and affecting their health. His solution was to developed a clean food of germinated grain that he laced with live bacteria to help support a balanced and healthy gut in his animals.
While initially, people were skeptical about his practices, in time they drew the attention of local vets who noticed Barrys livestock were healthier and less prone to infection. Interested in if this bacteria-rich food could have wider applications, vets carried out early studies with 100 cats and dogs diagnosed with colitis, a condition where parts of the gut become inflammed. When the food achieved a 95% clear up rate, it encouraged Barry to take his probiotic forward to see if it could also benefit people.
Today, the solution has been refined greatly since those early days and Symprove is now a unique multi-strain liquid probiotic that aims to get beneficial bacteria through the acidic stomach intact so they can reach and thrive in the gut and so help improve gut health. It does this as it is mostly water, which the Symprove team says avoids triggering digestion that could kill the bacteria in other types of probiotic.
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Naturalremedy For Parkinsons #7 Omega
Animal based omega-3 fatty acids are a powerful weapon inthe fight against Parkinsons disease. One of the main fatty acids, DHA, is oneof the essential building blocks for the human brain. Half of your brain andeyes are made up of fat and a large proportion of this is DHA fat.
Omega-3 fatty acids have the unique ability to cross theblood-brain barrier, something most conventional drugs cannot do. They helpincrease dopamine levels and reduce neuroinflammation in the brain, while atthe same time, stimulating neuron growth. So basically, EPA and DHA help preventbrain cell damage and keep the nervous system in tip top working order! 4
Best sources of animal based omega-3s are either fishoil, cod liver oil or krill oil. High strength krill oil is the preferred option as thiscontains a substance called Astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is a potent brain food nutrientthat has been shown to prevent neurodegeneration and inflammation of the brain.For dosages, take AT LEAST the highest recommended amount listed on the bottle the same goes with fish oil or cod liver oil. You cant overdose on thesesupplements so theres nothing to be concerned about. In fact, the more omega-3syou can get into you the better the results!
In addition to this, try and eat some cold water fattyfish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines or herring 3-4 times a week foran extra supply of DHA and EPA.
Review Of Include Studies
Figure 3.Effect of probiotics on frequency of bowel movements of people with Parkinson disease.
Figure 4.Effect of probiotics on the stool consistency of people with Parkinson disease.
Another two RCTs published by Iranian groups systematically investigated the influence of probiotics. These two RCTs recruited PwP and evaluated the changes in their metabolic profiles and gene expressions after 12 weeks of probiotics treatment. Tamtaji et al. argued that probiotic treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Score and a reduction of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress compared with placebo treatment . Additionally, probiotic treatment also caused a statistically significant reduction in insulin levels and insulin resistance and a statistically significant rise in insulin sensitivity. Borzabadi et al. found that probiotic treatment downregulated the gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with controls . Furthermore, probiotics upregulated the gene expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine, transforming growth factor-, and the metabolism regulator, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma. These two RCTs indicated that probiotics manipulation of gut microbiota may work not only on GI symptoms but also systemic pathology.
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Probiotics And Parkinson’s Disease:
The human intestinal tract is home to about 100 trillion bacteria known as the microbiome.This gut microbiome plays a key role in developing and regulating our immune system.The interactions between the gut and surrounding nerves is being studied as it may be a pathway to the brain and affect the central nervous system.Both the presence and absence of bacteria have been found to be topics of interest for Parkinson’s Disease researchers.Lower levels of some gut bacteria may lower the protection from some environmental toxins and produce compounds that help fight inflammation.Studies are on-going to determine the levels of bacterial and chemical compound concentrations and their correlations to numerous disease states including Parkinson’s.The bacteria which make up the microbiome are also essential for breaking down our food, generating endocrine/hormone activators, generating neurochemicals and teaching our immune system to recognize invading pathogens.The gut is also the general entry point for exposure to pesticides and herbicides and also impacts medication absorption.Our gut microbiome is affected by diet , pharmaceuticals, stress, environment and exercise.Constipation is also reported as one of the earliest Parkinson’s disease symptoms and related to gut health.Probiotics have a direct effect upon the gut microbiome and has become a field of study for Parkinson’s researchers.
Conclusions And Future Perspectives
Future studies on PD should account for the gut-brain axis and the manipulation of gut microbiota and microbial metabolites . Even though recent evidence shows that gut microbiota can regulate CNS immune response, microglia, neurophysiological processes , behavior, and blood brain barrier integrity, further understanding of mechanisms underlying these effects is highly encouraged. Cause-effect relationship between dysbiosis of gut microbiota and PD has been shown in particular in preclinical settings, and it has been shown that potentially a far more complex link exists beyond the unidirectional cause-effect relationship and the fact that -synuclein is now proposed to be a bystander contributing to multiple neurodegenerative processes, including PD . Maintaining healthy gut microbiota may face limitations and challenges but the potential is currently promising.
It is also important to consider objective measures in addition to other self-report questionnaires like Rome III criteria for future trials of probiotics in PD. For example, colonic transit time is a valid indicator, and has been used to objectively evaluate the severity of constipation among patients with PD . This concept of objective biomarkers can exploit to non-GI markers and those in PNS or CNS. For example, it has been proposed that using wearable, non-invasive body worn devices can be useful to collect information on movement and daily activities in relation to disease progression and drug effects .
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Gut Microbiome And Metabolic Changes In Parkinson’s Disease
With increased accessibility to nextgeneration sequencing technologies, there has been an expansion of studies showing significant, albeit varying, differences in the gut microbiome in PD compared to nonPD controls. These have recently been reviewed by Lubomski et al.16, 23, 24
Interestingly, several 16S rRNA genesequencing studies have shown significantly reduced abundances of butyrateproducing bacteria in PD fecal samples compared to controls.25, 26, 27 These findings were supported by a quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction study targeting butyrate synthesis genes28 and a gas chromatography study demonstrating significantly reduced fecal levels of shortchain fatty acids in PD patients versus controls.29 SCFAs are thought to play a key role in microbiotagutbrain crosstalk, in part via the regulation of bloodbrain barrier integrity, neuronal survival, inflammatory cascades, and endocrine signaling.30 Butyrate in particular is a major energy substrate for the colonic epithelium and acts to improve gut barrier function.31 Being a histone deacetylase inhibitor , butyrate has been found to exert neuroprotective actions in experimental PD models,30, 32 including the mitigation of PD motor impairment and dopaminergic cell death.32, 33, 34, 35, 36
Where Can I Find Bacillus Subtilis Pxn 21
Bio-Kult is a range of live bacteria supplements. Bacillus subtilis PXN® 21® can be found in Bio-Kult Advanced Multi-Strain Formulation, for digestive health, Bio-Kult Migréa, aimed at head discomfort and the latest addition to the range Bio-Kult Mind, with added grape and wild blueberry extracts as well as zinc to support normal cognitive function.
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Literature Search And Screening
For AD or MCI, a total of 5,444 records were obtained after the initial search of the electronic databases. Of these, 2,395 trials were removed as duplicates, and 3,026 publications were excluded after screening the titles and abstracts. The remaining 23 articles were scrutinized by full text, of which 17 were excluded for reasons detailed in the PRISMA flow chart . Then, 6 studies were considered eligible and were eventually included in the quantitative meta-analysis. For PD, 1,920 articles were obtained after the initial search of the electronic databases and 3 studies were identified through a manual search of the reference lists of relevant published reviews. Of these, 832 trials were removed as duplicates, and 1,070 publications were excluded after screening the titles and abstracts. The remaining 18 articles were scrutinized by full text, of which 13 were excluded for reasons detailed in the PRISMA flow chart . Then, 5 qualified articles were included in the quantitative meta-analysis.
Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram of the literature search and abstraction process. AD and MCI PD.
The Gut And Parkinsons
There appears to be a greater connection between gut and brain in the disease process of PD not formerly recognized. No wonder ancient Japanese civilizations believed that the center of wisdom was the gut. We allude to this when we use the term “gut feelings.” According to recent studies, people with Parkinsons not only have different flora in their gut compared to those without PD, but also have a specific bacteria known as Enterobacteriaceae, which has a direct correlation in symptom presentation. Those who have a greater number of this pathogen in their system appear to have an increased difficulty with gait and balance.
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Research Shows Bacteria Strain Could Guard Against Parkinsons
Bacillus subtilis PXN® 21® found within leading bacteria brand Bio-Kult that boosts digestive health can slow and even reverse build-up of a protein associated with Parkinsons, new research in worms suggests.
Building on previous research linking brain function to gut bacteria, this study in a Parkinsons model of roundworms, identified that a strain from our Bio-Kult product line Bacillus subtilis PXN® 21® helped prevent the formation of toxic clumps that starve the brain of dopamine, a key chemical that coordinates movement. These new findings could pave the way for future studies that gauge how supplements such as live bacteria impact the condition.
Researchers Harness Probiotic Bacteria To Deliver Parkinsons Disease Treatment
Animal studies show live biotherapeutic produced by gut-healthy probiotic bacteria is safe, reduces treatment complications.
Researchers have engineered probiotic bacteria that can synthesize the dopamine precursor L-DOPA, a powerful mainstay treatment for Parkinsons disease. Preclinical tests show that the new treatment approach is not only safe and well-tolerated but also eliminates side effects that eventually develop when L-DOPA is taken orally.
We are harnessing the metabolic capability of beneficial microbes that live in the gut to synthesize a molecule that is the gold standard therapeutic strategy for Parkinsons disease, said Anumantha Kanthasamy, PhD, professor and Johnny Isakson Chair, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. This next-generation microbial bioengineering technology is designed so that Parkinsons patients could make their own L-DOPA with microbes in their gut.
Piyush Padhi, a doctoral student in Kanthasamys lab, presented the new research at the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics annual meeting during the Experimental Biology 2022 meeting, which was held on April 2-5, 2022, in Philadelphia.
To address this challenge, Kanthasamys research team used newly developed synthetic biology and genetic engineering techniques to generate a safe and tolerable probiotic bacterium that can synthesize L-DOPA from tyrosine produced by the body.
Meeting: Experimental Biology 2022
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