Hong Kong researchers find links between onset of Parkinson’s and gut microbiome imbalance, marking first step in developing treatments
Professor says it is unclear whether gut microbiome imbalance is the cause of Parkinson’s disease or if other factors also play a roleChinese University study may allow researchers to map disease progression, which may lead to way to prevent it
Gut microbiome imbalance could be linked to the onset of Parkinson’s disease, Hong Kong researchers have found, a discovery that could pave the way for early intervention, prevention and treatment.
A study by Chinese University has shown that people with a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease suffer from gut microbiome imbalance – a lack of diversity of bacteria.
Professor Wing Yun-kowk, chairman of the university medical faculty’s department of psychiatry, said the findings showed gut microbiome imbalance could happen at least 20 years before the onset of Parkinson’s disease.
Explaining the findings of Chinese University’s study at a press conference are (from left) Dr Yaping Liu, Professor Yun Kwok Wing and Professor Huang Bei. Photo: Edmond So
He said it would be the first step in developing treatments to prevent or intervene with the onset of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
“This is only the beginning. This research allows us to identify how microbiome imbalance can lead to Parkinson’s disease, then we are able to map the disease progression, which may tell us how we can prevent this disease,” he explained.
“We have not been able to find a way to prevent Parkinson’s disease. But we are very hopeful that gut health is one of the factors that can be linked to its prevention.”
He said it the discovery would also be useful for screening patients with a high risk of Parkinson’s disease.
But Wing said it was unclear whether gut microbiome imbalance was the cause of Parkinson’s disease or if other factors such as genes and lifestyle also played a role.
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The findings have been published in the leading international journal Nature Communications.
The study, which began in 2018, recruited 441 people, including healthy individuals, Parkinson’s disease patients, and people with rapid eye movement behaviour disorder (RBD) and their immediate families.
RBD is a sleep disorder common in people in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease. Patients might have recurrent vivid dreams and nightmares and make movements and noises, including kicking, punching, and shouting.
The researchers said previous studies had shown that more than 90 per cent of RBD patients go on to develop neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.
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The latest study found almost half of RBD patients and 70 per cent of early-stage Parkinson’s disease patients had functional constipation, one of the symptoms of gut microbiome imbalance, and that the overall composition of their gut microbiota was similar.
Common constipation symptoms were also experienced by 16 per cent of immediate families of RBD patients, compared with nine per cent of healthy individuals who had functional constipation.
People with RBD or Parkinson’s disease had less short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, which could improve health. These patients and the immediate family of those with RBD had more collinsella, a bacteria which could trigger inflammation.
Professor Huang Bei, research assistant professor in the university’s department of psychiatry, said. although previous studies found that people with RBD had similar gut microbiota disturbance to Parkinson’s disease patients, the sample size had been too small.
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It was also unknown whether gut microbiota could have appeared before the diagnosis of RBD in the past, she added.
Wing said they were planning to collaborate with the university’s centre for gut microbiota research to produce probiotics that could improve the imbalance associated with Parkinson’s disease.
He recommended people who showed symptoms of RBD should seek medical advice as soon as possible and remove any sharp objects near their beds to prevent injury during sleep.
He said people diagnosed with RBD should ensure their gut was healthy by having a balanced diet, managing stress, and treating their constipation.