| description |
Here we present a study of the gut microbiome in relation to PD, which for the first time, includes a systematic stratified analysis to disentangle potential confounding of 41 variables including medications, diet, sex, age, geographic location, body mass index (BMI), constipation, and disease duration. We detected a strong relationship between PD and the microbiome that remained highly significant even after controlling for the confounders. We found significant associations between PD medications and the gut microbiome and were able to detect changes that were unique to medication and distinct from the changes seen in PD. PD samples had significantly elevated abundance of pro-inflammatory taxa from genera Verrucomicrobiaceae Akkermansia and significantly decreased levels of butyrate-producing anti-inflammatory taxa from Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families. Butyrate deficiency 7-9 could explain the gastrointestinal problems of PD, including colonic inflammation 4 and leaky gut 5 which may be at the root of the disease. |