Multiple courses of penicillin antibiotics were linked to a slightly lower risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a new study. The findings contrast some prior studies and highlight the complex link between the gut microbiome and brain health. The corresponding study was published in Parkinsonism & Related Disorders.
Gut dysbiosis may play a critical role in triggering Parkinson's disease alongside genetic and environmental factors. Some studies have analyzed the effects of antibiotics on Parkinson's risk; however, have so far yielded mixed results.
In the present study, researchers investigated the link between antibiotic and antifungal use and PD risk using health data from the UK. They compared 12, 557 cases of Parkinson's with 80, 804 matched controls. They included the number of prescribed antimicrobial courses 1-5, 6-10, and 11-15 years prior to the index date.
Analysis of the data revealed an inverse dose-response relationship between the number of penicillin courses and PD risk across multiple time periods. Those who received five or more courses of penicillin antibiotics in the five years before diagnosis were around 15% less likely to develop PD compared to those who did not take any antibiotics.
The analysis additionally revealed that people who took two or more courses of antifungal medications in the five years leading up to diagnosis had a roughly 16% higher risk of the condition.
In a press release, the study's lead author, Gian Pal, a neurologist at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, noted that the links found in the study were relatively mild and should thus not influence medical decisions about taking antibiotics or antifungals. He noted, however, that the findings support further investigation into how gut microbes may affect Parkinson's risk.
"The fact that a medication that you take only for a few days to alter your microbiome in a small way alters your Parkinson's risk- to me, that makes a stronger case that the microbiome is implicated," he said.
"Better understanding what the antifungal composition is in the gut- which really hasn't been well explored- and seeing if that is useful in distinguishing Parkinson's patients from non-Parkinson's patients would be useful," he concluded.
