Gut microbes promote motor deficits in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease

Gut microbes may play a critical role in the development of Parkinson’s-like movement disorders in genetically predisposed mice, researchers report. Antibiotic treatment reduced motor deficits and molecular hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease in a mouse model, whereas transplantation of gut microbes from patients with Parkinson’s disease exacerbated symptoms in these mice. The findings could lead to new treatment strategies for the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States.