Fecal microbiota transplant as a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease – A case series

Arik Segal, Yair Zlotnik, Keren Moyal-Atias, Ran Abuhasira, Gal Ifergane

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

73 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to determine whether fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is safe and possibly efficacious in treating constipation, motor, and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Methods: Patients with PD, constipation and an indication for screening colonoscopy were treated with FMT. The study was conducted from December 2017 to November 2019, and clinical outcomes assessing motor, non-motor and constipation symptoms were compared at baseline (week 0) and at 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks after the FMT. Results: Six patients (3 men, age range 47–73, median age 52) were treated with FMT. Four weeks following the FMT, motor, non-motor and constipation scores were improved in 5 of 6 patients. At week 24, compared to before the FMT, the changes in motor scores ranged from − 13–7 points, in non-motor scores from − 2 to − 45 points, and in constipation scores from − 12–1 point. One patient had a serious adverse event requiring admission for observation only, and no adverse events were observed in all other patients. Conclusions: In this preliminary uncontrolled case series of 6 PD patients, a treatment with donor FMT infused via colonoscopy, was safe and resulted in improvement of PD motor and non-motor symptoms, including constipation, at 6 months. Further research is needed to assess longer-term maintenance of efficacy and safety, including in large scale randomized controlled trials. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov

Original languageEnglish
Article number106791
JournalClinical Neurology and Neurosurgery
Volume207
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2021

Keywords

  • Fecal microbiota transplant
  • Parkinson's disease

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Clinical Neurology

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