Exploring the role of gut microbiota in Parkinson's disease: insights from fecal microbiota transplantation
Guo et al./Frontiers/2025
Why It Matters
This review caught my attention because it positions the gut as a potential intervention point for a disease we typically think of as purely neurological. If gut dysbiosis genuinely contributes to Parkinson's progression through measurable pathways like inflammation and protein aggregation, then FMT could offer a way to modify disease course — not just mask symptoms. That said, this is a review summarizing existing evidence, not new clinical data, so we're still in early days.
Key Findings
- In Parkinson's patients, gut microbiota imbalances correlate with disease duration, severity, and how fast symptoms progress
- Proposed mechanisms linking gut dysbiosis to Parkinson's include increased intestinal permeability ('leaky gut'), chronic inflammation, abnormal α-synuclein protein clumping, oxidative stress, and reduced neurotransmitter production
- FMT aims to restore gut microbiota diversity by transplanting functional bacteria from healthy donors into patients' GI tracts
- Early evidence suggests FMT may restore gut balance and ease clinical symptoms in Parkinson's, with potential neuroprotective effects
- The precise therapeutic mechanisms of FMT in Parkinson's remain uncertain — more research needed to confirm effectiveness and understand how it works