Gut microbiome differences in Parkinson's disease patients in Central Kerala population.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Gut microbiota dysbiosis is increasingly implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to find gut microbiota diversity and composition of PD patients in Central Kerala population, India.

METHODS

16 PD patients were enrolled and their spouse formed the controls. Fecal Microbiome analysis was performed by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.

RESULTS

Seven microbial species significantly contributed to the differences in beta diversity between the PD and control groups (p = 0.007). On network analysis Bifidobacterium longum, Bacteroides fragilis, Blautia obeum and Roseburia faecis represented the PD group communities and Ruminococcus bromii and Ruminococcus gnavus represented the controls. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Ruminococcus gnavus enhanced centrality in the spouse control network and Bifidobacterium longum, Eubacterium biforme, and Roseburia faecis in PD group.

CONCLUSIONS

This study offers initial evidence for identifying PD associated gut microbiome alterations in the Kerala population to be further explored with larger and more detailed longitudinal study.