Title:Microbiome-Based Therapies in Parkinson’s Disease: Can Tuning the
Microbiota Become a Viable Therapeutic Strategy?
Volume: 22
Issue: 9
Author(s): Adejoke Y. Onaolapo, Folusho O. Ojo, Anthony T. Olofinnade, Joshua Falade, Ismail A. Lawal and Olakunle J. Onaolapo*
Affiliation:
- Behavioural Neuroscience/Neuropharmacology Unit,
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Alpha-synuclein, dietary fibre, gut-brain axis, prebiotics, postbiotics, synbiotics.
Abstract: Progressive neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) have continued
to baffle medical science, despite strides in the understanding of their pathology. The inability of currently
available therapies to halt disease progression is a testament to an incomplete understanding of
pathways crucial to disease initiation, progression and management. Science has continued to link the
activities and equilibrium of the gut microbiome to the health and proper functioning of brain neurons.
They also continue to stir interest in the potential applications of technologies that may shift the balance
of the gut microbiome towards achieving a favourable outcome in PD management. There have
been suggestions that an improved understanding of the roles of the gut microbiota is likely to lead to
the emergence of an era where their manipulation becomes a recognized strategy for PD management.
This review examines the current state of our journey in the quest to understand how gut microbiota
can influence several aspects of PD. We highlight the relationship between the gut microbiome/
microbiota and PD pathogenesis, as well as preclinical and clinical evidence evaluating the effect of
postbiotics, probiotics and prebiotics in PD management. This is with a view to ascertaining if we are
at the threshold of discovering the application of a usable tool in our quest for disease modifying therapies
in PD.
