Bacteriophages, the Microbiome, and Parkinson Disease: Possible Treatment Implications

Compared with healthy controls, patients with PD had reduced levels of Lactococcus spp. in the gut and increased levels of lytic Lactococcus-specific bacteriophages.

The microbiome's role in both the pathogenesis and treatment of Parkinson disease (PD) and of neurodegeneration in general has become a hot topic. To explore the idea that gut phagobiota (the combination of all bacteriophages) may be altered in PD, investigators used a published dataset to analyze bacteriophages and to determine the phage/bacteria ratio in early untreated PD patients and healthy controls.

Compared with controls, PD patients exhibited reductions in lactic acid producing bacteria implicated in dopamine production and in regulating intestinal permeability, particularly Lactococcus spp. However, the number of the corresponding bacteriophages was not decreased in PD patients. Moreover, the proportion of lytic-phase bacteriophages…

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)