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Updated: Oct 8, 2025
Author Spotlight: Exploring Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: September 22, 2023
Altered gut microbiota in Parkinson's disease patients with motor complications
Kai Takahashi1, Hiroshi Nishiwaki2, Mikako Ito2
1Division of Neurology and Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Iwate, Japan.
Introduction:
Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with gut dysbiosis. However, whether gut dysbiosis can cause motor complications is unclear.
Methods:
Subjects were enrolled from four independent movement disorder centers in Japan. We performed 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence analysis of gut microbiota. Relative abundance of gut microbiota and relationships between them and clinical characteristics were statistically analyzed. Analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) was used to assess altered gut microbiota associated with wearing-off or dyskinesia.
Results:
We enrolled 223 patients with PD. Wearing-off was noted in 47.5% of patients and dyskinesia in 21.9%. We detected 98 genera of bacteria. Some changes in the gut microbiota were observed in patients with PD and motor complications. After Bonferroni correction, patients with wearing-off showed decreased relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae Blautia (p < 0.0001) and increased relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae Lactobacillus (p < 0.0001), but patients with dyskinesia no longer showed significant changes in the gut microbiota. Adjustment with two models of confounding factors followed by ANCOVA revealed that age (p < 0.0001), disease duration (p = 0.01), and wearing-off (p = 0.0004) were independent risks for the decreased relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae Blautia, and wearing-off (p = 0.009) was the only independent risk factor for the increased relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae Lactobacillus.
Conclusion:
Relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae Blautia and Lactobacillaceae Lactobacillus was significantly decreased and increased, respectively, in the gut microbiota of PD patients with motor complications. This indicates that an altered gut microbiota is associated with the development of motor complications in patients with advanced PD.
Insights
Gut dysbiosis is linked to Parkinson's disease (PD) motor complications. Specific bacteria changes, Lachnospiraceae Blautia and Lactobacillus, were associated with wearing-off and dyskinesia in PD patients.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Neuroscience
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is increasingly recognized to have connections with gut microbiota alterations, a condition known as gut dysbiosis.
- However, the direct causal link between gut dysbiosis and the emergence of motor complications in PD remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between gut microbiota composition and the presence of motor complications, specifically wearing-off and dyskinesia, in patients with Parkinson's disease.
- To identify specific bacterial genera or species that are significantly altered in PD patients experiencing motor fluctuations.
Main Methods:
- 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing was employed to analyze the gut microbiota composition of 223 Parkinson's disease patients from four Japanese movement disorder centers.
- Statistical analyses, including Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) adjusted for confounding factors, were used to assess the association between gut microbial relative abundance and clinical characteristics like wearing-off and dyskinesia.
Main Results:
- Significant alterations in gut microbiota were observed in PD patients with motor complications.
- Specifically, patients experiencing wearing-off showed a decreased relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae Blautia and an increased relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae Lactobacillus.
- While dyskinesia was also noted, significant changes in gut microbiota were not consistently observed for this complication after correction. Age, disease duration, and wearing-off were identified as independent risk factors for altered Lachnospiraceae Blautia and Lactobacillus abundance.
Conclusions:
- An altered gut microbiota composition, characterized by decreased Lachnospiraceae Blautia and increased Lactobacillaceae Lactobacillus, is significantly associated with motor complications in advanced Parkinson's disease.
- These findings suggest that gut dysbiosis may play a role in the development or progression of motor fluctuations in PD, highlighting potential therapeutic targets within the gut microbiome.
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