Study finds that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) does not offer significant benefits for Parkinson’s diseasepatients.
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) did not show clinically meaningful improvements for Parkinson’s disease (PD) in a study published in JAMA Neurology.
Researchers randomly assigned 47 PD patients with dysbiosis of fecal microbiota to receive either FMT or a placebo via colonoscopy.
The primary outcome of change in Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale did not differ between the FMT and placebo groups.
The FMT group experienced more gastrointestinal adverse events, while the placebo group showed a stronger increase in dopaminergic medication.
Additional studies on the impact of donor microbiota composition and dysbiosis conversion on outcomes in PD are needed.
A study published in JAMA Neurology found that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) did not result in clinically significant improvements for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The study included 47 patients with PD who were randomly assigned to receive either FMT or a placebo via colonoscopy. The primary outcome of change in Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale did not differ between the groups, with the FMT group experiencing more gastrointestinal adverse events. Changes in microbiota were more pronounced after FMT, but the dysbiosis status was reversed more frequently in the placebo group.
The authors of the study suggest that further research is needed to explore the impact of donor microbiota composition and dysbiosis conversion on motor and nonmotor outcomes in PD. They recommend investigating modified FMT approaches or bowel cleansing to determine if these interventions could offer more significant benefits for patients with PD. Ultimately, the study concluded that while FMT is safe, it did not provide meaningful improvements in PD symptoms, highlighting the need for more targeted research in this area.
