Microbiota-gut-brain signalling in Parkinson's disease: Implications for ... https://www.sciencedirect.

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Parkinsonism & Related Disorders

Volume 27, June 2016, Pages 1-8

Review article

Microbiota-gut-brain signalling in Parkinson's disease:

Implications for non-motor symptoms
Valeria D. Felice a, b, Eamonn M. Quigley b, c, Aideen M. Sullivan a, Gerard W. O'Keeffe a, b, Siobhain M. O'Mahony a,
b

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2016.03.012 Get rights and content

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Microbiota-gut-brain signalling in Parkinson's disease: Implications for ... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1353802016300669

Highlights
• Parkinsons disease patients suffer from imbalanced microbial colonisation of the
gut.

• Some of the PD non motor symptoms are also associated with microbial
imbalance.

• Gastrointestinal disturbances occur in PD and often precede motor symptoms.

• α-synuclein is present in the enteric nervous system prior to their appearance in

the brain.

• Microbiota manipulation may relieve non motor symptoms and improve quality
of life.

Abstract
Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting 1–2% of
the population over 65 years of age. The primary neuropathology is the loss of midbrain
dopaminergic neurons, resulting in characteristic motor deficits, upon which the clinical
diagnosis is based. However, a number of significant non-motor symptoms (NMS) are also
evident that appear to have a greater impact on the quality of life of these patients.

In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that neurobiological processes can be
modified by the bi-directional communication that occurs along the brain-gut axis. The
microbiota plays a key role in this communication throughout different routes in both
physiological and pathological conditions. Thus, there has been an increasing interest in
investigating how microbiota changes within the gastrointestinal tract may be implicated in
health and disease including PD.

Interestingly α-synuclein-aggregates, the cardinal neuropathological feature in PD, are present

in both the submucosal and myenteric plexuses of the enteric nervous system, prior to their
appearance in the brain, indicating a possible gut to brain route of “prion-like” spread. In this
review we highlight the potential importance of gut to brain signalling in PD with particular
focus on the role of the microbiota as major player in this communication.

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