Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) has over 10 million individuals affected worldwide, and its occurrence is rising due to the aging population (Dorsey et al., 2018). It is largely identified by its characteristic motor features, including bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity, which result from the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra. However, PD pathophysiology has significantly advanced in recent years, with further recognition of the role played by gut-brain interactions in the etiology of disease. Gut microbiota has also been shown to modulate neuroinflammation, one of the salient features of PD pathogenesis (Sampson et al., 2016).
New evidence supports the hypothesis that PD is caused by dysbiosis of the gut microbiota influencing systemic inflammation, neurotransmitter production, and even neuronal degeneration (Zhu et al., 2022). This has raised interest in probiotic treatment as a solution. Probiotics, active nonpathogenic microorganisms have beneficial effects on the host's health, may regulate the gut microbiota potentially reduce neuroinflammation, and improve both the motor and the non-motor symptoms of PD (Palleja et al., 2019).
Several studies have already demonstrated changes in gut microbiota composition in PD patients compared to healthy controls, with reduced beneficial species such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and elevated pro-inflammatory species (Yang et al., 2018). Probiotic treatment has been encouraged in animal models of PD, and initial clinical trials suggest that it could have therapeutic potential for symptom relief and even disease modification (Hsieh T. et al., 2020).
This systematic review evaluates the current literature on probiotic therapy in PD, targeting how they affect the gut microbiota, neuroinflammation, and clinical parameters. A review of preclinical, clinical, and in vitro research will hopefully provide a broad, overarching overview of the state of probiotics research on PD treatment.
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