Fecal Microbiota and Fecal Characteristics of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often have constipation and ileus due to autonomic dysfunction with their motor disturbances. We studied the fecal microbiota and fecal characteristics of 8 PD patients (3 men, 5 women, average age of 73.5 years, average duration of illness of 10.5 years, Hoehn and Yahr’s stage of 4 or 5) and 7 normal volunteers (3 men, 4 women, average age of 69.0 years). Although the shape and color of feces of PD patients indicated no specific patterns, the fecal pH of PD patients tended to be alkaline (p<0.01). In total bacterial populations, there was no significant difference between the PD group and the normal group. Veillonella numbers were lower in PD patients, particularly, in patients taking enteral formulas, Veillonella numbers were under the detection limit. The PD group showed a greater number of Clostridium-other than the normal group (p<0.05).