There are many potential reasons why probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics may be useful for PWPs. Although the great majority of PD / probiotic studies involve animals, there are many human studies that show benefits that would definitely be useful for PWPs!
In this first study, it is shown that probiotics increase glutathione production.......something that every PWP can definitely use because glutathione is a highly potent antioxidant and radical scavenger which is often at suboptimal levels in PWPs! In studies, glutathione has shown great benefit for PWPs and one doctor has used glutathione to very good effect in some of his PD patients as has already been shown in other posts here on this forum. The problem with glutathione is that you can not just take a supplement of it because it will not do well as it passes through the gut. There are even lypospheric glutathione products out there to try and overcome the gut issue. There are also injections and infusions, but these are not very practical for long term use, but probiotics are doable for this purpose.
Here are two studies showing that probiotics / synbiotics significantly increase glutathione levels.
In these next studies, it is shown that probiotics reduce high sensitivity C reactive protein or hsCRP, which is a common marker used to determine inflammation levels. PWPs can definitely have a use for reduced inflammatory levels which are elevated and neuro damaging in PWPs.There are B-vitamins that can help reduce hsCRP, but one or two are sometimes contraindicated with certain PD meds.
Two very common symptoms of PD is depression and anxiety and these two do not get discussed enough considering how prevalent they are in PWPs. The next study shows how probiotics can reduce both!
Inflammation is a major player in PWPs who generally have elevated levels of inflammation, but other things can add to the total inflammatory load in the body, such as arthritis. In PD, it is well established that exercise is highly beneficial, but arthritis makes exercising difficult if not impossible for PWPs. On that note, the following study suggests that probiotics can lower the inflammatory load and symptoms related to arthritis!
Along those same lines, any disease that raises inflammation and oxidatative stress levels is going to be counter productive or disease worsening for PWPs and diabetes would be one such common disease. The following study suggests that probiotics can ameliorate many symptoms associated with diabetes including inflammation, insulin resistance, oxidative stress and reduce intestinal permeability, a very common problem in PWPs, as many of you already know! These activities of probiotics also improve insulin sensitivity, which anyone with diabetes can truly appreciate the value of. Improved insulin sensitivity can help to lower the total inflammatory burden of the body!
Since it is already established that moderate to heavy aerobic exercise can be quite beneficial for PWPs, something that will help reduce the muscle damage associated with this type of exercise would be very useful for PWPs in order to get the most out of the exercise you do, and probiotics may be just the thing according to this next study.
Neurodegeneration is a hallmark aspect of PD and probiotics have a broad spectrum of health benefits of which neuroprotection is one along with antioxidant improving, oxidative stress lowering, GABA increasing and increased dopamine levels as outlined in the following abstract!
It is well known that many PWPs have a disturbed gut microbiome and constipation and other gut disturbances are common symptoms of this disease. Probiotics have the ability to help in this area also according to the following .
Given the typical age range of PWPs, it can be considered that this group may also have elevated LDL cholesterol, VLDL, and tryglycerides while having reduced HDL cholesterol (the good one). Doctors typically prescribe statin drugs to try and normalize cholesterol levels, but statins are well known for their bad effects on muscle tissue and muscle pain in some people which can be a major setback for PWPs. Probiotics are quite effective at not only lowering LDL, VLDL and tryglycerides, but also elevating HDL cholesterol according to the following study!
PWPs in general have a disturbed microbiome that can create other health issues which I discussed previously in an earlier post about mannitol at this link:
That post discussed the fact that prebiotics like mannitol can increase the production of thiamine, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and butyrate of which all three are important in terms of symptom relief in PWPs........hugely important!
There is much more I can say about probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, fermented foods and the like in terms of overall health benefits, but I think the above is more than enough to highlight the potential of these health supplements as it applies to PWPs!
If your neurologist told you he/she could prescribe one drug that has the potential to lower hsCRP, raise glutathione, lower inflammatory markers, increase insulin sensitivity, reduce or eliminate constipation, restore the gut microbiome to a healthier state, increase dopamine levels, reduce stress, reduce anxiety, reduce depression, reduce tryglycerides, increase HDL cholesterol, act as a neuroprotectant and help with arthritis symptoms and diabetes, would you tell your neurologist that you are not interested? Lowering the total inflammatory burden and oxidative stress levels can be quite good for over all health and improving PD symptoms!
Something that PWPs have to deal with is the amount of pills they have to take everyday, so finding pills that have multiple benefits in one pill is useful and can potentially make it easier to stick to your regimen while reducing symptoms with minimal side effects, if any!
I use a broad spectrum one called Epic Pro 25-Strain Probiotic, but there are many to choose from on the internet. In the studies that I linked to, they mention which ones they used in each study. Certain probiotics are specific to certain health issues.
Art
The following study indicates that intestinal inflammation is present in PWPs.
Inflammation can act in a vicious cycle that creates more reactive oxygen species which creates more inflammation and the two can feed on each other to continue the cycle endlessly.
The following study suggests that probiotics can suppress intestinal inflammation.
Thanks Art, this should be interesting, but what would you look at as a good indicator that the use of probiotic fats is working in the sense of reducing inflammation or make the gut healthy?
I think it depends a lot on what symptoms you have related to the inflammation. If you consistently have a perturbed gut, then I would look for those symptoms to gradually diminish and as the total inflammatory levels decline along with the accompanying oxidative stress, improvement in multiple PD symptoms would start to become apparent in a gradual manner. I think the first step for the probiotics to deal with would be improved fecal transport. I don't know if everyone is the same, but to me, constipation always seems to make everything health related, worse.
There are a lot of aspects about probiotics that I didn't cover, such as the idea that probiotics can increase T-regulatory cells (tregs) which help to limit and control the inflammatory response along with the increased oxidative stress as a result of the inflammation knock down. The idea being that you are trying to break the vicious cycle that helps feed the PD disease process. Ultimately looking for total symptom reduction for PWPs. I think the disease process is at least partially fed by chronic gut inflammation as mentioned in a study above and eliminating that inflammation should, at a minimum slow the disease progression and improve symptoms that are essentially fed by that inflammatory process on a body wide level, not just the gut.
Given that I do not have a laboratory and I do not know what to do I have this term of comparison to evaluate a supplement: it favors and increases the functionality of an organ or a part of the body yes or no? I can say that the use of probiotics (probiotic-3), according to your advice in previous posts, more mannitol and rice-based diet from about a month, has improved the functionality of the intestine.
Well obvious !,
no not really because this is connected to another symptom of PD: the pressure and vertigo, which in times of physical fatigue due to hours of physical work were presented episodically for half an hour. In the last month with the use of probiotics and mannitol the intestine is very regular and zero episodes of pressure surge in days of great fatigue and I assure you that in a flower shop you get tired a lot after the days of 8 / 10 hours of work.
Gio
Thank you for the update on that probiotic experiment, Gio!
I am very happy to hear that the mannitol (prebiotic) in conjunction with the butyricum probiotic is working well for some of your remaining symptoms, great news!!! You are a living example of what I am trying to say about probiotics and prebiotics in combination, a gradual improvement of symptoms! Not overnight, but gradually! Please keep us posted on any other benefits you find from your prebiotic/probiotic experiment!
I assure you that no one "healthy" could do the work I do in and out of the refrigerators at 6 degrees for hours on a two-storey shop without having an incident of pressure even without PD.Before thiamina vomit for a day, with thiamina everything went well, but if I get tired then some episodic backlash on the intestine happens, it's not about continuous things. With probiotics no episodes.
I have never thought of MSM as a probiotic as they are living bacteria. MSM does have significant health benefits for some people though. Some people are unable to tolerate it and develop a rash. I have used it topically and orally. As a powder mixed into orange juice it is still fairly bitter......I would say even more than thiamine.
I took it for an extended period of time. My sinuses completely cleared up. Have not taken it for a while I think I'll start again but at a smaller dosage. I used to take couple teaspoons a day. I guess everybody's deficient in Sulphur
Glad it worked for you Parkie13, but unfortunately regarding sulphur deficiency this old saying comes to my mind - "one's man cure is another man's poison", or as dr. Jockers puts it:
"Sulfur containing foods are extremely healthy for most individuals but not for those with major CBS mutation problems. These individuals must limit sulfur intake by removing garlic, onions, cruciferous veggies, eggs, legumes, all protein-rich dairy. They also must avoid normally great supplements like alpha lipoic acid, chlorella, spirulina, glutathione, MSM, DMSO and N-Acetyl Cysteine."
He ordered this probiotic based on studies showing that it increased butyrate in conjunction with a prebiotic like mannitol or potato starch which it contains:
Don't take it because it is well past the expiration date on the bottle!
Just kidding!
The bacteria seems typical of what is found in popular probiotics. They use FOS as the prebiotic in that particular product which is what is in the probiotic that I take, but FOS is not the most effective prebiotic for the purpose of increasing butyrate which is why I also take grams of xylitol. In your case, I believe you are already taking the prebiotic, mannitol and this with the right probiotic bacteria can produce the needed butyrate.
In Gio's case, the product he ordered contains less common bacteria and only three of them, but the Clostridium Butyricum is specially noted because it is one of the few commercially available probiotics which has shown the ability to interact with a prebiotic to form butyrate which is very important when it comes to PD. Notice also that his product uses potato starch as the prebiotic . With his relatively quick and impressive results, I suspect he will be buying this one again!
Mannitol is a prebiotic capable of producing butyrate in a healthy gut when it interacts with the right bacteria.
I think in your "particular case", that may be a correct assumption on your part. See, you are in relatively great shape now and if I remember correctly not of super long disease duration. The problem for people with more advanced or longer duration PD is that they are lacking or deficient in many of the naturally present gut bacteria that are able to interact with prebiotics to form butyrate . These bacteria diminish as the disease progresses. I think this may partially explain why some respond very well to mannitol and why some don't. If you still have enough of the butyrate producing bacteria in your gut, then the addition of a prebiotic like mannitol is likely to be quite useful, but if you are too deficient in these butyrate producing bacteria, as might be the case in a more advanced disease state, you may not get the butyrate effect from taking mannitol.
I believe that Gio chose that particular probiotic because it contained at least one known butyrate producing bacteria along with the prebiotic, potato starch and the mannitol. He was still having gut issues when he started this experiment and with the addition of the probiotic/prebiotics (mannitol/potato starch) he chose, those symptoms are diminishing or gone!
I changed the mannitol that did not do me good with xylitol that I find much better for the body without side effects like too much gas, diarrhea, etc. , and also I think mannitol is little devastating for my cellular Life, sorry. With the addition of could basmati rice three times a week to bring resistant starch and probiotics, I have achieved an unprecedented daily intestinal regularity in my life and I feel very good. Thanks to Art for this post which is like a map to follow. Thanks so much
Glad to hear about your good results, Gio! How much xylitol are you taking and how are you taking it? Are you still taking the butyrate agonist probiotic too?
I take 2/3 teaspoon at day in the morning coffee cup (2) and afternoon whit water.(1). I have just of few day finish probiotic -3 and start another one called “prescript assist 28 soil based ecc”
Ok. But I think the PREbiotic are important, like xyliitol, cold rice, also mannitol.The probiotic-3 was fine too. Probiotics are necessary but I think the type of Prebiotic used really regulates the type of bacterial flora. Resistant starch and xylitol for my Cellular Life are good.
Ketogenic gluten free diet. Extensive blood panel for food allergy resulting in food avoidance plus two phase probiotic. One to kill the bad bugs and one to spur the good ones .
Dr Amy Myers (and others ) approach this the same way. Weed and reseed!
I think it is worth mentioning that none of the things I have discussed in previous posts such as probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, vitamin D, magnesium, mannitol and thiamine act in a bubble. They are intimately intertwined, work together and have synergy together. As an example, most people understand that prebiotics and probiotics work very well together, but look at this study of vitamin D and probiotics.The gut of PWPs is frequently in disarray and putting that back in proper working order asap should be a very high priority toward slowing the disease process by trying to eliminate two major factors in what is feeding the disease process, elevated inflammatory levels and elevated oxidative stress.
The following study discusses the relationship between magnesium and thiamine and I suspect may partially explain the reason that some people respond better to high dose thiamine than others and I imagine is also why Dr. Costantini will tell some patients to add magnesium to their thiamine regimen, to improve response. The type of magnesium used is important as some forms are more bioavailable than others and some can be more target specific like magnesium taurate and magnesium threonate which are purported to effectively target the brain.
The next study discusses the synergy between magnesium and probiotics in helping to relieve psychological stress and fatigue in humans which would clearly be important for PWPs!
So although individual supplements have benefit, certain supplements have synergy with others and when you look at the many supplements that PWPs use, many have synergism together equating to improved health benefits!
Unfortunately we live in a polluted world where you often look at what you eat and drink, but what about what you breathe or worse from radiation? There have been more than a thousand experiments of atomic bombs on a planet with scattering of radioactive substances. The solution could be complicated by many factors. As PwP I am interested in restoring and maintaining the vital functions of the body, but it may be that the body, which can not live at minus 50 degrees below zero, can not even live long in a radioactive environment, so we will die almost all without PD ,who knows? but I am a positive guy and I think that the use of Thiamina Hcl greatly reduces the parkinson alone, but what about restoring dead brain cells?
I do not know, but I think it can be done. I still have not understood what I'm doing here to discuss dopamine and b1 etc. since it would not be my job and it is not in my main interest but having the PD ...
THE POINT IS ALWAYS THAT, WORKS OR NO?
if it works in the long run, will it improve the structure of the brain and bring it to a healing? hopefully optimistically of yes.Because is the function that determines the structure, maybe.
We hope that it is not in the changing form of life that is the evolution in history the only way that life do it, I would be disappointed.
Looking for a common denominator, or a foundation that justifies their functionality would seem, to a superficial vision like mine, that all these (thiamina HCL, Magnesium, vit D,maybe probiotics ) revolve around the forms of calcium, but surely an expert eye can find other common denominators, these appropriately valued things can lead to solutions.
The truth is that we will probably never know every single aspect about all of these drugs and supplements in our life times because there are so many unknowns and science does not seem to move in that direction. Often times, we are left to our own devices to figure out what we can on our own. That makes this forum a very useful resource for us to help in that endeavor.
Amy, Prescript-Assist has since had a recall. There are a few post on here about it, but I'm not sure where they are. (Probably in this thread.) Best to stay away from that product now.
Yes, I do. I landed on this brand about a year ago. I found trying to do apples to apples comparison of brands to be tricky, i.e., spore versus endospore, soil-based vs non-soil-based, and comparing colony forming units per capsule also doesn't work, plus as you point out, different brands have different strains and are aimed at different things.
A lot of companies publish how many are alive at the point of manufacture, but what matters is how many live through the digestive process and become embedded in the mucous lining.
While in most, 99% are destroyed during manufacture, storage, and stomach acid, their website says, "Prescript Assist is a shelf stable probiotic that has been tested to retain its potency over time (with variations of less than 5% over 2 years from date of manufacture when stored at 98 degrees F/37 Celsius."
These are not rigorous studies, but I think it's a good product, although expensive.
Yes, the price of some probiotics is fairly high. One thing that can be very harsh on probiotics is if they are transported in the summertime when heat can reach extreme levels sitting in the back of a dark brown UPS truck. Possibly hot enough to destroy the living bacteria inside the capsules.
This is a cut and paste of my post about milk kefir. Once you get used to making it, it is easy and cheap.
I just wanted to share that we have started making our own milk kefir. It's a fermented probiotic slightly thickened drink. It is easy and cheap to make, it contains between 20 and 50 (depending which website you consult!) good gut bacteria and yeasts, and promotes a healthy gut microbiome. We want to be as healthy as possible of course, but with all the talk about the gut-brain connection, we kind of hoped it may help with PD as well.
Anyway, Don's been taking it for about three months, initially two 60ml doses per day, and now three 60ml doses per day. He feels it is helping him with less rigidity, less nausea, and more sleep. Just thought I'd share this in case anyone else wanted to try it.
Homemade milk kefir
You need some clean glass jars, a small sieve, some kefir grains (order online, you only need to buy them once), and milk (I use ordinary supermarket brand full fat UHT dairy milk).
Place kefir grains in clean glass jar. Pour in enough milk to leave a gap of about 2cm beneath the lid. (This gap allows the release of fermentation gases.) Stir gently with a clean spoon, put on the lid, then leave at room temperature, out of direct sunlight (I keep mine in a cupboard.)
Leave for 24 hours, then pour through a small sieve (to save your grains for the next batch) into a clean jug or other sort of container. This is your kefir - store in the fridge. We prefer the taste of kefir when it is refrigerated.
Place the grains back into the jar, and pour on milk to make the next batch exactly as you did the first time. (I wash the jar weekly, no need to do it everyday.)
Kombucha is another fermented beverage touted for probiotic content/benefit. You, Art , others: any experience or firm research on benefit to PWP? So many variables- > exponential outcomes on unique microbiomes makes it difficult to assess or assign merit. Perhaps another Forum topic?
Wow thx for summarizing and references, Art! The gift that keeps on giving.
The following study describes a decrease in total gut bacteria content associated with PD progression. These are like pieces to a puzzle that are very slowly coming together:
This post is fantastic, it's a professional map that guides you to understand the use of probiotics and prebiotics. They are easy to use, not overly expensive and of great benefit not just for PwPs. I'm trying one called "probiotic.3" along with the first mannitol, but since it did not hit me with Xylitol now. Thanks Art for the good advice and help. Forums like this one of HU are of value if there are people of value who write in it, you Art make the difference in any forum you write and I am honored and happy to have you here on HU. Gio
We have discussed many benefits associated with probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, fermented foods and drinks and now I would like to go into a little more detail. JANVAN recently posted about how IL-17 is a known inflammatory cytokine that is elevated in PD and from my own experience, elevated in psoriasis and other disease states. That post linked to information that suggested that the biologic,Secukinumab is a useful inhibitor of IL-17 and this is what it is already used for in psoriasis. The problem is the potential for significant side effects with this biologic and the current lack of research for Secukinumab in PD. I assume the point of the linked to article is that there may be potential benefit to be had for PWPs by suppressing IL-17. On that note, I write the following as a safer way of possibly inhibiting IL-17 as well as other inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators such as TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1 and IL-12P70 while boosting the anti inflammatory IL-10 and neuroprotectant, TGF-beta!
It is often stated that runaway inflammation and oxidatative stress help feed PD and are associated with worsening symptoms so identifying which inflammatory cytokines are at elevated levels in PD is useful in trying to mount a counter attack in order to try and reduce symptoms. In the following abstract, they discuss some of these inflammatory cytokines and their association to PD. As you can see IL-1 is also elevated in patients receiving higher dose Levodopa while the anti inflammatory cytokine IL-10 is downregulated. Just about the opposite of what you would want!
Neurosci Lett. 2018 Jul 29;683:181-184. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.07.027. [Epub ahead of print]
Association of Parkinson's disease-related pain with plasma interleukin-1, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and tumour necrosis factor-α.
Li D1, Song X2, Huang H3, Huang H3, Ye Z3.
Author information
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To study the association between Parkinson's disease (PD)-related pain and plasma interleukin (IL)‑1, IL‑6, IL‑10, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‑α levels.
METHODS:
Sixty-seven participants were enrolled. Plasma inflammatory cytokine levels of IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We additionally administered the third part of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS III) and Hoehn and Yahr (H-Y) scale stage and recorded the course of the disease, the type and location of the pain, and the use of drugs.
RESULTS:
The level of IL-1 was significantly higher in the PD-with-pain than in the healthy-control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference among groups in the other examined cytokine levels. There was a statistically significant difference between the PD-with-pain and the PD-without-pain groups in UPDRS III and H-Y stage. Additionally, the IL-1 level was significantly higher in patients who received a levodopa dosage of >250 mg than in their counterparts who received ≤250 mg, and the IL-1 level was higher in patients with an H-Y stage of >2 and UPDRS III of >27 than in their counterparts with an H-Y stage of ≤2 and UPDRS III of ≤27. The expression of TNF-α was higher in patients aged ≥70 years than in their counterparts aged <70 years. The level of IL-10 was significantly lower in the patients with an H-Y stage of >2 than in their counterparts with an H-Y stage of ≤2.
CONCLUSION:
The elevated level of IL-1 and the depressed level of IL-10 in the peripheral blood of patients with PD-related pain suggests that certain inflammatory cytokines may be implicated in the occurrence and clinical symptoms of PD-related pain.
Taking this one step further , the PubMed study below shows how the correct probiotics can have a positive influence on these elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines as well as a positive influence on the depressed level of the anti inflammatory IL-10 and this would be very desirable for PWPs as well as other disease states! Notice also the very significant reduction in TNF -alpha, a known inflammatory mediator that is often at elevated levels in many disease states.
Crit Care Med. 2018 Jun 27. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000003279. [Epub ahead of print]
Evaluation of Effect of Probiotics on Cytokine Levels in Critically Ill Children With Severe Sepsis: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
ICU of a tertiary care teaching hospital in North India.
PATIENTS:
Children 3 months to 12 years old with severe sepsis.
INTERVENTIONS:
Enrolled children were randomized to probiotic (n = 50) and placebo (n = 50) groups. Probiotic group received VSL#3 (VSL Pharmaceuticals, Towson, MD) (Lactobacillus paracasei, L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. delbrueckii, Bifidobacterium longum, B. breve, B. infantis, Streptococcus salivarius; maltose; and silicon dioxide), and placebo group received maltose and silicon dioxide. Dose was 1 sachet twice daily for 7 days. Blood was collected on days 1 and 7 for estimation of interleukin-6, interleukin-12p70, interleukin-17, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-10, and transforming growth factor -β1. "Primary outcome": Change in cytokine levels in probiotic and placebo groups from day 1 to 7. "Secondary outcomes": Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, healthcare-associated infections, ICU stay, and mortality.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:
On day 7, probiotic group had significantly lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 [80 vs 186 pg/mL, p = 0.001]; interleukin-12p70 [44 vs 79 pg/mL, p = 0.001]; interleukin-17 [217 vs 293 pg/mL, p = 0.01]; and tumor necrosis factor-α [192 vs 348 pg/mL, p = 0.01]) and higher levels of antiinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-10 [320 vs 240 pg/mL, p = 0.02] and TGF-β1 [311 vs 221 ng/mL, p = 0.01]) than placebo group. From day 1 to 7, probiotic group showed significant decrease in proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 [196-80 pg/mL, p = 0.001]; interleukin-12p70 [71-44 pg/mL, p = 0.01]; interleukin-17 [258-217 pg/mL, p = 0.01]; and tumor necrosis factor-α [347-192 pg/mL, p = 0.001]) and increase in antiinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-10 [198-320 pg/mL, p = 0.001] and TGF-β1 [216-311 ng/mL, p = 0.001]) as compared to placebo group. Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score on day 7 was significantly less in probiotic group (1 vs 3). There was a nonsignificant trend toward lower incidence of HCAIs (14% vs 20%) and duration of ICU stay (6.5 vs 9 d) in probiotic group. Mortality was similar in two groups.
CONCLUSIONS:
Probiotics supplementation for 7 days resulted in significant decrease in proinflammatory and increase in antiinflammatory cytokines in children with severe sepsis.
Of important note in the abstract above is the relatively short length of this study, but I think what is also important is the relatively fast response by those taking the studied probiotic! In other words, the benefits started fairly quickly and reached very significant levels very quickly. You can only wonder what would have happened in a longer study such as two weeks or more!
For those who have followed this thread, it should be clear that probiotics should have significant value in many disease states and definitely in PWPs! Also, it is worth noting that the gut biome continues to show increasing importance in the pathology of PD and many other health issues. The phrase, "you are what you eat", also seems very relevant! Some researchers continue to consider the gut microbiome as possibly a very likely place where PD evolves from to the brain, so trying to return the gut microbiome to "normalcy" seems like an effort worth making!!!
Art
From the above, some of the many potential health benefits of probiotics are becoming clearer with each new study and that list of health benefits continues to expand. Given the perturbed gut biome of PWPs, it seems reasonable to consider probiotics and similar products for the purpose of trying to re-establish a host biome that is closer to that seen in healthy subjects. Studies continue to define and expand upon the value of probiotics in multiple disease states which is important because many PWPs have other health issues at the same time. Probiotics are a non invasive approach to improving health in a broad and far reaching way. Yes, they do significantly reduce inflammation and oxidative stress which are two major forces constantly at work in many disease states and these two are known to help drive disease progression in PWPs, so controlling them both simultaneously is a positive step forward in trying to slow disease progression.
Here is a partial list of known health benefits associated with probiotic use.
Reduction of inflammatory mediators beyond the known active ones in PD.
Reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which is known to be at elevated levels in PD as a vicious cycle of inflammation + oxidative stress which continually creates more of both which in turn is associated with progression of disease and symptoms. Breaking this cycle is an important step in trying to control the disease process. Probiotics control these two through multiple pathways while having an excellent safety profile! Probiotics also boost other healthful components like short chain fatty acids, butyrate in particular, hydrogen sulfide, thiamine and histone deactylase inhibition to name only a few. Probiotics also improve insulin sensitivity which also equates to reduced inflammation and oxidatative stress. As an example of how good probiotics are at improving insulin sensitivity, I have a friend who is on multiple medications to try and control his diabetes, but his condition continued to spiral out of control and his doctor just continued to add medication after medication with each visit to try and get it under control to no avail! I talked to him about the potential of probiotics and prebiotics for this purpose and he started taking a broad spectrum probiotic along with xylitol as a prebiotic. within 6 weeks of starting probiotics, his diabetes started to improve and soon his symptoms were well controlled and he thought everything was fine so he stopped taking the synbiotic combo and shortly after that his symptoms started to worsen and his doctor told him that he would have to add more drugs in order to get his diabetes under control. After hearing this, my friend decided to start the synbiotic again and soon he was well controlled again! Keeping in mind that improving insulin sensitivity is anti inflammatory even in people without diabetes is important for everyone.
Many things that synbiotics do end up being anti inflammatory in an indirect way such as the increased insulin sensitivity. Probiotics also help lower intestinal inflammation which is the norm in PWPs and this in turn helps lower the total inflammatory burden. Probiotics can improve heart parameters which can also lower inflammation and oxidative stress even further. Probiotics can help repair an inflamed gut and repair leaky gut, again, indirect anti inflammatory and antioxidatative stress effect of synbiotics.
If I had to try and summarize the great number of positive effects that synbiotics (and all others) confer, I would say that they have a "normalizing effect" by trying to return the body to a state of homeostasis, something that is very needed in PWPs.
I will quote a portion from an earlier part of this thread , to close this current post.
' If your neurologist told you he/she could prescribe one drug that has the potential to lower hsCRP, raise glutathione, lower inflammatory markers, increase insulin sensitivity, reduce or eliminate constipation, restore the gut microbiome to a healthier state, reduce or repair gut permeability, increase dopamine levels, reduce stress, reduce anxiety, reduce depression, reduce tryglycerides, increase HDL cholesterol, act as a neuroprotectant and help with arthritis symptoms and diabetes, would you tell your neurologist that you are not interested? Lowering the total inflammatory burden and oxidative stress levels can be quite good for over all health and improving PD symptoms! '
Art
Previously near the top of this thread I linked to a study that showed that synbiotics (probiotic + prebiotic) can increase glutathione levels which is very important in PD to help reduce damage to brain cells in PD. Here is another study showing similar increased glutathione production which is important because the current means of trying to increase glutathione levels are mostly expensive and not always optimally effective!
Here are two small quotes from the study, of which the link is provided below:
'Supplementation with the synbiotic food led to a significant increase in plasma total GSH (319.98 vs. 19.73 μmol/L'
'A significant reduction in serum hs-CRP levels (-1057.86 ± 283.74 vs. 95.40 ± 385.38 ng/mL, P = 0.01) was found following the consumption of synbiotic food compared with the control group.'
Because there are so many other benefits, they may offset whatever difference occurs. If you haven't already, scroll up to the top of this page and read the original post and you will get a better idea of what I mean.
If gout is a problem, borax may help. Click on my icon and look for my borax post. Some of the links in that post suggest that borax can benefit gout and arthritis.
Thank you but with history of cancer it’s not an option (Borax can act like oestrogen. If you have any condition that might be made worse by exposure to estrogen, eg Hormone-sensitive condition such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids: avoid supplemental boron or high amounts of boron from foods. Borax contains a lot of boron. )
Yes, it may be contraindicated in some circumstances. Possibly beneficial for prostate cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer among many other health benefits.
What I think about people it is based on a single evaluation: are they going to help?
This once ,established with certainty, gives you the value of a person.
Art, I want to publicly thank you for the wonderful research and dissemination work done by you here on HU.
I know it cost you a lot work and it has put a strain on you, but I think you did a great thing for all of us by providing your knowledge every time it was requested of you.
I know that you did it only to help and this was much appreciated and valuable.
To my name and to all those who have benefited from your writings,Thank you very much Art!
Merry Christmas.
n.1
Gio
Hi Gio,
I very much appreciate your kind and thoughtful words towards me, but I must admit it leaves me feeling a bit uncomfortable on a public forum like this. It is always nice to be appreciated and I thank you very much for that, but there are other people on this forum who do try to help others also and it seems by you singling me out that it may in some way detract from what others are doing for others here and I really don't want that. This a great forum with some great members and information and it has been very nice to be here!
Merry Christmas to you too and best wishes and health for the new year ahead!!!
I take this opportunity to wish all the friends here on HU. The value of a group is given by the value of its components. Each of us here on HU parkinson movement would make a difference in any forum and in life.
We are what we are also with PD.
One of my favorite quote:
"We will not go quietly into the night!
We will not vanish without a fight!
We're going to live on!
We're going to survive! "
As I said recently to a friend of mine:
Parkinson did not take away the ability to love life and people, and that's almost all we need.
I wanted to update this post, since it has been awhile since I added to it, with a recent study. In other posts about the gut biome I have mentioned often about the value of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) a signaling gas produced in the body similarly to NO. H2S has potent anti-inflammatory qualities, but it is a powerful gas that is toxic at higher levels so it is not something that could likely be taken as a supplement, but rather supplements can be taken that will help the body produce more H2S. The body is designed to handle H2S in the amounts it is capable of producing.
In this fairly recent study, it is shown how specific supplements are likely to be able to increase H2S level in the brain affording anti-inflammatory effects in the brain which would be useful in AD as well as other neurodegenerative disease states such as PD.
H2S can act to lower inflammatory mediator and cytokines that are known to be elevated in AD and PD. Given that neuroinflammation is a known and active major player in these neurodegenerative diseases, being able to increase production of H2S in the brain to act as a potent anti-inflammatory agent seems to make plenty of sense. Here is a link to that recent and brief abstract :
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