ABSTRACT
AIM: To measure the concentration of glutamate in the serum of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and determine its association with clinical variants of disease course. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred and ten patients with PD and 90 healthy people were examined. Glutamate concentration in the blood serum was determined with a spectrophotometric method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Patients with Parkinson's disease had significantly higher levels of serum glutamate compared with healthy subjects (p<0,0001). Patients with a tremor-dominant subtype had significantly higher levels of serum glutamate compared to those in patients with akinetic-rigid and mixed subtypes. The results obtained allow us to expand our understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. Changes in the concentration of glutamate may reflect neurodegenerative process in PD.
Subject(s)
Parkinson Disease , Disease Progression , Glutamic Acid , Humans , TremorABSTRACT
Clinical variants of Parkinson's disease (PD) are not restricted to motor symptoms but include a wide spectrum of different non-motor symptoms: cognitive, psychotic, autonomic and sensory. These non-motor symptoms often occur long before classical motor features. Associated pathologic changes can now be identified at earliest stages using neuroimaging, pathomorphological and genetic studies. Therefore, PD is currently considered as a multifactorial, heterogenic systemic disease associated with involvement of multiple neurotransmitter systems. This leads to understanding that not only dopaminergic but also other neurotransmitter systems, including glutamatergic system, are involved in the pathogenesis of PD. This article aimed at investigating a role of glutamatergic system in the initiation of neurodegenerative process. The role of glutamate as a neurotransmitter and a neurotoxin in the pathogenesis of PD and progression of its clinical manifestations is discussed. The authors suggest that research into glutamate excitotoxicity in PD patients might allow the improvement of treatment tactics and correction of pathogenetic therapy.
Subject(s)
Parkinson Disease , Dopamine , Glutamic Acid , Humans , Neurotransmitter AgentsABSTRACT
Gut microbiota of patients with Parkinson's disease and healthy volunteers was analyzed by the method of high throughput 16S rRNA sequencing of bacterial genomes. In patients with Parkinson's diseases, changes in the content of 9 genera and 15 species of microorganisms were revealed: reduced content of Dorea, Bacteroides, Prevotella, Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides massiliensis, Stoquefichus massiliensis, Bacteroides coprocola, Blautia glucerasea, Dorea longicatena, Bacteroides dorei, Bacteroides plebeus, Prevotella copri, Coprococcus eutactus, and Ruminococcus callidus, and increased content of Christensenella, Catabacter, Lactobacillus, Oscillospira, Bifidobacterium, Christensenella minuta, Catabacter hongkongensis, Lactobacillus mucosae, Ruminococcus bromii, and Papillibacter cinnamivorans. This microbiological pattern of gut microflora can trigger local inflammation followed by aggregation of α-synuclein and generation of Lewy bodies.
Subject(s)
Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics , Gram-Negative Bacteria/genetics , Gram-Positive Bacteria/genetics , Parkinson Disease/microbiology , Phylogeny , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics , Aged , Biodiversity , Case-Control Studies , DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic/methods , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , Feces/microbiology , Female , Gram-Negative Bacteria/classification , Gram-Negative Bacteria/isolation & purification , Gram-Positive Bacteria/classification , Gram-Positive Bacteria/isolation & purification , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Parkinson Disease/physiopathology , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
Microbiota is a community of microorganisms, viruses, protozoa, colonizing the gut. There are tight phylogenetic relationships between the gut microbiota and the human body, the disturbance of which may lead to the CNS dysfunction as well as to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. This review focuses on general and specific aspects of the influence of gut microbiota on the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Current theories and models of the relationship between microbiota and brain structures in PD are presented with a specific focus on neurochemical and immunological aspects of the problem.
