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Gut bacteria can interfere with the main treatment of Parkinson's disease

Published in Microbiology
Go to the profile of Sahar EL Aidy
Sahar EL Aidy
Associate Professor and Chair of Host-Microbe Metabolic Interactions, Groningen Bimolecular and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen.
Gut bacteria can interfere with the main treatment of Parkinson's disease
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Nature
Nature Nature

Gut bacterial tyrosine decarboxylases restrict levels of levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease - Nature Communications

The gut microbiota can impact the bioavailability of therapeutic drugs. Here, the authors show that bacterial tyrosine decarboxylases (TDC) decrease the levels of levodopa, the primary treatment in Parkinson’s disease, by conversion to dopamine, and suggest TDC as a potential predictive biomarker for treatment.

Patients with Parkinson’s Disease are treated with levodopa, which is converted into the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. In a study that was published on 18 January in Nature Communications, we show that gut bacteria can metabolise levodopa into dopamine. As dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, this means the bacteria can compromise the availability of the medication, even in the presence of inhibitors that should prevent the conversion of levodopa. Check it at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08294-y

Go to the profile of Sahar EL Aidy
Sahar EL Aidy
Associate Professor and Chair of Host-Microbe Metabolic Interactions, Groningen Bimolecular and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen.

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Microbiology
Life Sciences > Biological Sciences > Microbiology

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