The Role of the Western Diet and Oral Microbiota in Parkinson's Disease.

Barbara Zapała,Monika Piwowar,Tomasz Milewicz,Magdalena Doręgowska,Julia Wątor,Alicja Dudek,Magdalena Wójcik-Pędziwiatr,Monika Rudzińska-Bar,Zuzanna Jania,Tomasz Stefura

doi:10.3390/nu14020355

Abstract

The type of diet not only affects the composition of the oral microflora but is also one of the more critical factors associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, PD. This study compared diet preferences and oral microbiota profiles in patients with PD vs. healthy controls. This study compared the oral microbiota composition of 59 patients with PD and 108 healthy controls (without neurodegeneration) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. According to results, oral microbiota in patients with PD is different compared from healthy controls. In particular, decreased abundance of Proteobacteria, Pastescibacteria, and Tenercutes was observed. The oral cavity of patients with PD was characterized by the high relative abundance of bacteria from the genera Prevotella, Streptococcus, and Lactobaccillus. There were also differences in food preferences between patients with PD and healthy controls, which revealed significantly higher intake of margarine, fish, red meat, cereals products, avocado, and olives in the patients with PD relative to healthy controls. Strong positive and negative correlations between specific food products and microbial taxa were identified.

Highlights

PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting up to 1% of the population above 60 and 4–5% of those above 80 [1,2]
Patients with PD included in the research group showed a grade of 2.04 on the five-point Hoehn and Yahr scale
No significant differences in the analyzed clinical parameters and anthropometric characteristics were observed between patients with PD and healthy controls (Tables 1 and 2)

Summary

Introduction

PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting up to 1% of the population above 60 and 4–5% of those above 80 [1,2]. The most popular in Europe, the Western diet, is characterized by high caloric intake of energy-dense foods, high in saturated and omega-6 (ω6) fatty acids, refined sugars, excessive salt intake, and low consumption of omega-3 (ω3) fatty acids and fiber. This diet, mainly enriched in high quantities of animal saturated fats, canned fruits and vegetables, soda, fried foods, beef, ice cream, and cheese, has been widely associated with an increased risk of developing PD [7,8,9,10]. Consumption of flavonoid-rich foods (e.g., tea, berry fruits, apples, red wine, and orange juice) seem to be associated with a lower risk of developing PD

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Discussion

Conclusion