
Gut bacteria changes could be ‘warning sign for worsening Parkinson's symptoms'
Changes in specific bacteria in the mouth and gut of patients with Parkinson's disease could potentially be an early warning sign that symptoms of the condition are getting worse, a study suggests.
With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), scientists have linked these shifts to cognitive decline – problems with memory and learning – in people with the disease.
They suggest the toxins could one day be used as 'markers' for medics to pinpoint the Parkinson's patients at a higher risk of dementia, as well as being used to help develop targeted treatments for the disease.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive condition that affects the brain, with symptoms including involuntary shaking, known as tremors, as well as psychological problems such as depression, loss of balance, trouble sleeping and memory issues.
According to the Alzheimer's Society, around a third of people with Parkinson's eventually develop dementia.
Dr Saeed Shoaie, group leader of the quantitative systems biology (QTS) lab at King's College London, said: 'The human gut and oral bacterial communities are increasingly linked to neurodegenerative diseases.
'Disruptions in the gut-brain axis could trigger inflammation and immune responses that contribute to neuronal damage.
'A common gum disease bacterium like porphyromonas gingivalis has been discovered as a potential driver of Alzheimer's.'
For the study, led by experts at King's College London and published in the journal Gut Microbes, scientists analysed 228 spit and stool samples.
The samples came from 41 patients with Parkinson's and mild cognitive impairment, which causes problems with thinking and memory, 47 patients with Parkinson's and dementia and 26 healthy patients.
The team found that the gut of people with mild cognitive impairment contained more harmful bacteria, many of which are likely to have come from the mouth.
This bacteria releases toxins that can damage gut tissue, promote inflammation and potentially affect the brain, according to researchers.
For a more in-depth analysis, the team used AI to pinpoint the bacterial species and functions not usually picked up by traditional testing, allowing them to link toxins specifically to cognitive decline.
Dr Shoaie added: 'The emerging evidence underscores the potential importance of maintaining oral and gut health in mitigating or slowing neurodegenerative processes.
'As people with Parkinson's become increasingly reliant on carers, routine practices such as oral hygiene and nutritional intake may be neglected.
'Our findings suggest that promoting a healthy microbiome through consistent oral care, a balanced diet and potentially targeted probiotic interventions could support improved disease management in Parkinson's.'
Dr Frederick Clasen, research associate at the QTS lab, said: 'We don't yet know if the bacteria are causing the cognitive decline or if changes in the body due to Parkinson's allow these bacteria to grow.
'But our findings suggest they may play an active role in worsening symptoms.'
Dr Clasen suggests these markers could one day be used to develop targeted treatments.
'These toxins could be used as biological markers to identify patients at higher risk of dementia in Parkinson's,' he said.
'In the future, they might also be targets for new treatments that protect the brain by changing the gut environment.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Sky News
36 minutes ago
- Sky News
One million blood donors needed to meet demand and avoid 'red alert' shortage, NHS warns
The NHS has warned the UK needs one million regular blood donors to maintain supply and avoid a "red alert" - which means supplies are so low there is a threat to public safety. Last July, officials issued an "amber alert" for stocks of O negative and O positive blood after cyberattacks hit London hospitals. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said blood stocks have remained low since. Dr Jo Farrar, NHSBT chief executive, said: "Our stocks over the past 12 months have been challenging. If we had a million regular donors, this would help keep our stocks healthy - you'd truly be one in a million. "Please book an appointment today, experience how good it feels to save lives, and come and do it again in a few months." The NHSBT added just 2% of the population - under 800,000 people - sustained the whole of England's blood supply over the past 12 months. It said there is a "critical" need for more donors who have O negative blood, the universal type used in emergencies or when a patient's blood type is unknown. It is typically carried by air ambulances and emergency vehicles - and makes up around 16% of hospital blood orders. There is also a need for more black donors, who are more likely to have specific blood types which can help treat people with sickle cell disease. Health Minister Baroness Merron said: "The NHS is in urgent need of more lifesaving blood donors from all backgrounds. "We are working alongside NHS Blood and Transplant to make donating blood easier than ever before, opening up new donor centres and making appointments available closer to home." Women can donate blood once every four months and men can do so once every three.


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
World must ‘start screening for prostate cancer to stop men being left behind'
Every country should have a strategy for tackling prostate cancer with dedicated screening programs for men over 50, a leading health charity has said. Global Action on Men's Health, the leading international charity for men's health, is calling for prostate cancer – now the third most common cancer worldwide – to be dramatically elevated on the health agenda. On Monday it will launch a campaign to encourage all countries with adequate resources, including the UK, to launch national screening for the disease in a bid to cut unnecessary deaths. It will also call for the World Health Organization (WHO) to introduce a Global Prostate Cancer Initiative which 'covers every stage of the prostate cancer pathway from prevention to palliative care'. Prostate cancer is now the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men in 112 countries and the leading cause of cancer death among men in 48 countries. In England, it is now the most common cancer, killing some 12,000 men every year, according to Prostate Cancer UK. Writing in today's Telegraph, Peter Baker, the director of Global Action on Men's Health, said that men were being short-changed when it comes to healthcare. 'Men's health has been neglected for far too long with devastating consequences,' he writes. 'Globally, men's life expectancy lags five years behind women's. Men are significantly more likely to develop and die from cancer, heart disease, diabetes and tuberculosis. They are also at much greater risk of dying from suicide or an accident on the roads or at work.' Mr Baker calls for reform across health care systems – ensuring men have better access to GPs, for instance – and believes that a focus on prostate cancer is a good place to start. Rapid advances in screening technologies now mean that developed nations should soon be able to launch screening programs that will cut death rates by a third or more and reduce the dramatic social inequalities associated with the disease. Men with a family history of prostate cancer run a significantly higher genetic risk of developing prostate cancer, as do black men. Men from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are also much harder hit, due to a combination of poor health literacy and access to healthcare. The European Commission recently recommended introducing national prostate cancer screening across all 27 member states of the European Union, and already countries including Sweden and Norway have either launched or are on the brink of launching national screening programs. While blood tests for prostate cancer, known as prostate-specific antigen tests (PSA), have been available for many years, they throw up a large number of false positives. This in turn led to many unnecessary prostate removals and biopsies being performed, meaning the risks outweighed the benefits of running national screening programmes. But now, with the advent of more specific blood tests and high resolution MRI scans, which allow for much more accurate biopsies, the balance has changed, with several high quality studies showing the benefit of screening. The largest of these studies was the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), which included over 182,000 men and showed a 20 per cent reduction in prostate cancer mortality among those screened. Another study in Gothenburg, Sweden, found that after 18 years of follow-up, men in the screening group were 35 per cent less likely to die from prostate cancer than men who were not screened. Men who started screening at age 55-59 were 53 per cent less likely to die. Professor Jonas Hugosson, a urologist at University of Gothenburg in Sweden who led the Swedish study, said he expected national screening for prostate cancer to be rolled out across most western European nations in the next few years. In Sweden a move to nationwide screening was already progressing and in Norway he expected a national screening program to be announced shortly, he said. However, just as with the roll out of breast cancer screening more than three decades ago, it would take most countries many years to gear up. 'In my view, we have quite a new situation today, and I think it's time for the health authorities to take a new standpoint,' he said. 'I'm quite sure about that and we will see screening come all over Europe during the coming years, but it takes 10 years to build up, at least.' 'Alarming and unacceptable' rise in cases The NHS in England does not have a dedicated men's health strategy but one has been promised by the end of the year by the new Health Secretary, Wes Streeting. Although the new strategy is unlikely to include the imminent launch of a national screening program for prostate cancer – the UK currently does not have the MRI machines and trained staff needed to launch one – it may include screening for high risk groups. These include black men, who have double the normal risk, and men with a family history of prostate and related cancers – including breast and ovarian cancer on the female side. In October last year, six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, 49, revealed that he had terminal prostate cancer. Both his father and grandfather had the disease but his was not caught by early testing, sparking an outcry. 'The rapid rise in prostate cancer cases is not just alarming, it is also unnecessary and therefore unacceptable,' said Global Action on Men's Health. 'Prostate cancer is currently inadequately addressed in global and national cancer policies'. In addition to national testing where possible, the charity is calling for the WHO to support a new Global Prostate Cancer Initiative covering 10 areas. These include governments being urged to introduce national cancer plans which specifically address prostate cancer with clear performance indicators, education programmes to raise awareness and tackle stigma, and investments in research, infrastructure, workforce development and treatments for prostate cancer. The WHO does not currently have a programme that focuses specifically on prostate cancer but 'integrates' it to its wider program for tackling cancer more generally. Cervical cancer, in contrast, has a dedicated programme dedicated to its global eradication but that is because the HPV vaccine makes it possible to wipe out the disease completely. Dr André Ilbawi, technical lead for cancer control at the WHO, welcomed the prostate campaign launched by Global Action on Men's Health, and said the disease was moving up the WHO's agenda. The organisation had just five countries involved in its cancer programme in 2015 to but has 100 today. 'We see prostate cancer as a priority and, in 2023, elevated it in our guidance because it can be treated,' said Dr IIbawi. 'If treatment is available, survival is extremely high. And if treatments are not available, those men will die. 'We agree that prostate cancer should be seen in the cancer agenda as high impact, cost-effective and meeting community needs'.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Ipswich woman could lose sight after parasite 'burrows' into eye
A woman fears she could partially lose her sight after a water parasite "burrowed" into her eye when she went swimming while wearing contact Greenfield, of Rendlesham, Suffolk, has been diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis, a painful infection of the cornea - the outer layer that protects the 58-year-old sought help after her vision became blurred and her right eye started to feel "really sore" and sensitive to light while she was working on her computer."My vision is incredibly blurred and it feels a bit like getting chilli, lemon juice or bleach in your eye," said Mrs Greenfield, who has had to be signed off work. "The worst case scenario is I lose sight in my right eye and the best case scenario is I lose a little bit – but I am just going to do what I can to try and get better," said Mrs Greenfield."Since I started treatment it has got a little better, but I am having to wear dark glasses and put blankets against my curtains because I can't bear the light." According to the NHS's Moorfields Eye Hospital website, around two in 100,000 contact lens wearers per year in the UK are diagnosed with acanthamoeba infection is caused by a microscopic organism usually found in bodies of water as well as domestic tap water, swimming pools, hot tubs, soil and patients can recover within three to six months, while more complicated cases can prove debilitating for as long as a Greenfield was advised to go to Ipswich Hospital after her optician declared she was suffering from a "medical emergency" and needed urgent has since undergone numerous examinations, biopsies and intensive treatment and has had surgery to remove the top layer of her cornea."If you wear contact lenses [the parasite] can get trapped behind the lens and start to burrow into the eye," she said."It is incredibly rare but that, unfortunately, is what's happened to me." 'Eye health regime' Vision Direct says swimming with "contact lenses or getting them wet should be avoided at all times" as doing so can make eyes "vulnerable to contamination by harmful bacteria".Mrs Greenfield, who has worn contact lenses for 40 years, has now warned others to wear goggles and be mindful of purchasing lenses on the internet."I was always told not to sleep in contact lenses, that was a big no-no, but I don't know why opticians are not telling people not to wear them when they shower or swim," she told the BBC."Behind the lens is a lovely, warm environment for a germ to breed so people need to be really, really careful."If I had known then I wouldn't have worn my lenses while swimming." Max Halford, clinical and policy director of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, said opticians "will always advise on how to handle, clean and replace your contact lenses"."Every UK-based contact lens optician should always provide advice on the correct care and usage of contact lenses both at the initial fitting appointment and at every follow up," he said."We recommend patients always attend their local opticians for routine contact lenses appointments, usually every 24 months or more often if recommended by your eye care professional."These appointments are a vital part of your eye health regime if you are a contact lens wearer and they are an opportunity for your optician to review and check the correct procedures are being followed for successful contact lens wear."Always check with the supplier of your contact lenses that after appointments and advice is available including advice on what to do in an emergency." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.