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Courtesy of Sylvia Dobbs
Three members of the research team. From left to right: Aisha Augustin, John Dobbs and Sylvia Dobbs
Constipation is common among patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and often predates the diagnosis by decades. Previous work by researchers at King’s College in London led them to hypothesise that laxatives might ease muscle stiffness (rigidity) in PD.
The team retrospectively studied 79 PD patients attending a gut-brain axis clinic over 374 person-years. Flexor rigidity increased by 5.5% each year but plateaued in patients who began taking laxatives, even if they weren’t receiving anti-PD medication. A similar pattern was seen with bulk, osmotic and enterokinetic laxative classes, pointing to a common mechanism.
Reporting in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (online, 21 May 2016)[1]
, the researchers say the results support the idea that an imbalance in gut bacteria plays a role in the pathogenesis of PD and could point to a new approach to managing rigidity using existing medicines.
References
[1] Augustin AD, Charlett A, Weller C et al. Quantifying rigidity of Parkinson’s disease in relation to laxative treatment: a service evaluation. British Journal of Pharmacology 2016. doi: 10.1111/bcp.12967
