Genetic and environmental factors in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and promising therapeutic intervention via fecal microbiota transplantation

Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by neuronal impairment and loss of function, and with the major shared histopathological hallmarks of misfolding and aggregation of specific proteins inside or outside cells. Some genetic and environmental factors contribute to the promotion of the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, there are no effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. It has been revealed that bidirectional communication exists between the brain and the gut. The gut microbiota is a changeable and experience-dependent ecosystem and can be modified by genetic and environmental factors. The gut microbiota provides potential therapeutic targets that can be regulated as new interventions for neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discuss genetic and environmental risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases, summarize the communication among the components of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and discuss the treatment strategy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). FMT is a promising treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, and restoration of the gut microbiota to a premorbid state is a novel goal for prevention and treatment strategies.

Mapping trends and hotspot regarding gastrointestinal microbiome and neuroscience: A bibliometric analysis of global research (2002–2022)

“…Moreover, fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) technology, an ancient administration route traced back to fourth-century China ( Zhang et al, 2012 ), is receiving increasing attention. Accumulating studies suggest that FMT has potential therapeutic effects on neuropsychiatric areas-related disorders, owing to the increase in microbiota diversity ( Kang et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ).…”

Update to the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease Based on the Gut-Brain Axis Mechanism

“…Fecal microflora transplantation (FMT) is the most effective method for the intervention of GI microflora, and the recovery of GI microflora to the pre-onset state of PD is a promising method for prevention and treatment ( Wang et al, 2021 ). FMT has been shown to protect PD mice by inhibiting neuroinflammation and reducing TLR4/TNF-α signaling ( Sun et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Two solutions are possible in the future: one is to prolong the duration of the treatment and establish a good GI flora through diet, drugs, and other auxiliary microflora transplantation; the second method is to develop a new method of transplanting fecal flora, so that flora transplantation can be as painless as taking medicine, to the extent that it can be transplanted regularly. FMT also carries the risk of infection transmission, which may cause bacterial infections such as bacterial metastasis, septicemia, and multi-drug resistant organisms ( Wang et al, 2021 ). Given this, we should strengthen the physical examination of donors to ensure the quality of feces.…”

Rehabilitation of a misbehaving microbiome: phages for the remodeling of bacterial composition and function

“…This procedure has shown remarkable success in treating recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections (rCDI) (Van Nood et al, 2013). FMTs also have the potential for treating other diseases or disorders such as ulcerative colitis (Jacob et al, 2017), Crohn's disease (Gordon and Harbord, 2014), chronic constipation (Tian et al, 2017), graft versus host disease (Van Lier et al, 2020), and neurodegenerative diseases (Wang et al, 2021). In instances where gut bacteria can alter drug efficacy, FMTs can reverse this effect…”