After 12 weeks of treatment, 30 patients with Parkinson's Disease showed significant improvements in several neurological and gastroenterological assessments.
Patients exhibited better scores in cognitive and behavioral assessments, including part 1 and HAM-D.
Gastroenterological evaluations indicated improved symptoms, with significant reductions in PAC-SYM scores and increased complete bowel movements.
Fecal analysis revealed a significant increase in the abundance of the order Oscillospirales and the species Faecalibacterium prausnitzii following treatment.
Synbiotic treatment is associated with positive effects on both neurological and gastrointestinal symptoms in Parkinson's Disease patients.
Simplified
Gut microbiota changes and brain-gut-axis (BGA) dysregulation are common in people with Parkinson's Disease (PD). Probiotics and prebiotics are emerging as a potential therapeutic approach for PD patients. The aim of this paper was to assess the neurological and gastroenterological effects in PD patients with constipation after the administration of a product, with a focus on behavioral and cognitive symptoms. We enrolled patients with stable PD who met diagnostic criteria for functional constipation and/or irritable bowel syndrome with constipation according to Rome IV Criteria. Patients received a synbiotic treatment (Enterolactis Duo, containing the probiotic strain Lacticaseibacillus paracasei DG and the prebiotic fiber inulin) for 12 weeks. A neurological and a gastroenterological evaluation were collected before and after the treatment. In addition, 16S rRNA gene profiling and short chain fatty acid quantification were performed to characterize the microbial ecosystem of fecal samples collected before (n = 22) and after (n = 9) the synbiotic administration. 30 patients were consecutively enrolled. After treatment, patients performed better in part 1 (p = 0.000), SCOPA-AUT (p = 0.001), TAS-20 (p = 0.014), HAM-D (p = 0.026), DIFt (p = 0.003), PAS-A (p = 0.048). Gastroenterological evaluations showed improvements in PAC-SYM score (p < 0.001), number of complete bowel movement (p < 0.001) and BSFS (p < 0.001). After the synbiotic administration, we observed a significant increase in the abundance of the order Oscillospirales, as well as the Oscillospiraceae family and the species Faecalibacterium prausnitzii within this order in fecal samples. Synbiotic treatment demonstrates potential efficacy in ameliorating non-motor features in PD patients.
Key numbers
15.13±7.98 vs 10.37±6.05
Decrease in Part 1 Score
Scores at baseline (T0) and after treatment (T1)
3.0 (3.5) vs 5.5 (4.1)
Increase in Number of Bowel Movements
Median number of bowel movements at T0 and T1
1.4 (0.9) vs 0.9 (0.8)
Decrease in PAC-SYM Score
Total PAC-SYM scores at baseline (T0) and after treatment (T1)
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