Cited by 147Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and TreatmentsGut microbiota and healthGastrointestinal motility and disorders

Efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation in patients with Parkinson’s disease: clinical trial results from a randomized, placebo-controlled design

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Cheng, Yi, Tan, Guohua, Zhu, Qihui, Wang, Chun, Ruan, Guangcong, Ying, Senhong, Qie, Jinlong, Hu, Xiaofei +11 more·2023·Gut Microbes

Abstract

The occurrence and development of Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been demonstrated to be related to gut dysbiosis, however, the impact of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on microbiota engraftment in PD patients is uncertain. We performed a randomized, placebo-controlled trial at the Department of Neurology, Army Medical University Southwest Hospital in China (ChiCTR1900021405) from February 2019 to December 2019. Fifty-six participants with mild to moderate PD (Hoehn-Yahr stage 1–3) were randomly assigned to the FMT and placebo group, 27 patients in the FMT group and 27 in the placebo group completed the whole trial. During the follow-up, no severe adverse effect was observed, and patients with FMT treatment showed significant improvement in PD-related autonomic symptoms compared with the placebo group at the end of this trial (MDS-UPDRS total score, group×time effect, B = -6.56 [−12.98, −0.13], P < 0.05). Additionally, FMT improved gastrointestinal disorders and a marked increase in the complexity of the microecological system in patients. This study demonstrated that FMT through oral administration is clinically feasible and has the potential to improve the effectiveness of current medications in the clinical symptoms of PD patients.

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Crossref · 10.1080/19490976.2023.2284247

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  • One study reported no changes in motor function at 6 months post-FMT, although here the treatment group required smaller dose increases than placebo.

    “One study reported no changes in motor function at 6 months post-FMT, although here the treatment group required smaller dose increases than placebo.”

    From The gut–brain axis in early Parkinson’s disease: from prodrome to prevention (2025) · cites this paper as [207]

    The Results section (page unavailable) says participants were followed through week 12, not six months, and reports a significantly larger decrease in the MDS-UPDRS total score in the FMT arm than in the placebo arm at week 12. The cited passages do not report smaller medication-dose increases in the FMT arm. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • The FMT treatment failed to produce a significant change in the gut microbiome in that study.

    “In this study, only 3% of the treatment group were reported to show a change from dysbiotic to non-dysbiotic status, compared to 33% in the placebo arm, suggesting that the FMT treatment failed to produce a significant change in the gut microbiome.”

    From The gut–brain axis in early Parkinson’s disease: from prodrome to prevention (2025) · cites this paper as [207]

    The Results section on metagenomic sequencing (page unavailable) says gut-microbiota alpha and beta diversity did not change significantly after FMT or placebo, supporting the narrower point about diversity. It does not report the cited 3% versus 33% dysbiosis-status figures, and it reports differences in microbial species and community networks among FMT responders, so the broader claim of no significant microbiome change is overstated. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • In these studies, the clinical findings were associated with a shift toward anti-inflammatory microbial species.

    “In these studies, the clinical findings were associated with a shift toward anti-inflammatory microbial species.”
  • There are currently four RCTs with available evidence for the role of FMT in treating PD.

    “There are currently four RCTs with available evidence for the role of FMT in treating PD [206–209].”
  • Three of these RCTs reported changes in global or motor function, and of these two reported significant improvement UPDRS PD symptom scores at 12 weeks and 12 months, respectively.

    “Three of these reported changes in global or motor function, and of these two reported significant improvement UPDRS PD symptom scores at 12 weeks and 12 months, respectively.”

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Authors
Cheng, Y., Tan, G., Zhu, Q., Wang, C., Ruan, G., Ying, S., Qie, J., Hu, X., Xiao, Z., Xu, F., Chen, L., Chen, M., Pei, Y., Zhang, H., Tian, Y., Chen, D., Liu, X., Huang, H., & Wei, Y.
Affiliations
  • Army Medical University (CN)
  • Suzhou Municipal Hospital (CN)
  • Department of Pathogen Biology-Microbiology Division, Key Laboratory of Pathogen of Jiangsu Province; The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, China
Corresponding author
  • Liu, Xingyin
  • Huang, Heqing
  • Wei, Yanling
Venue
Gut Microbes
Published
2023-12-06
Volume
15
Issue
2
Pages
2284247-2284247
ISSN
  • 1949-0976 (ISSN-L)
  • 1949-0984
OpenAlex
W4389451466
Cited by
147
References
53
Citations by year
2026: 42 · 2025: 73 · 2024: 32
FWCI
25.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Gut Microbes (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82172288)
  • the Special Project for Enhancement of Science and Technology Innovation Capability of Army Medical University (2019XLC3040)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
Keywords
fecal microbiota transplantation, Parkinson's disease, gut dysbiosis, autonomic symptoms, gastrointestinal diseases, MDS-UPDRS, oral administration, treatment feasibility
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Fecal Microbiota Transplantation, China, Feces, Humans, Parkinson Disease, Treatment Outcome, Dysbiosis

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