Parkinson’s Disease Status but not High Sodium Consumption is Correlated with Alterations in the Gut Microbiome

Abstract

Globally, Parkinson's disease (PD) is emerging as the most rapidly growing neurological disorder. PD is associated with a strongly altered gut microbial composition, which may promote disease in part by increasing inflammation. A high sodium diet (HSD) has been shown to alter gut microbial composition in a pro-inflammatory manner, and thus our study aimed to determine whether people with PD who had HSDs experienced more dysbiosis than those with lower sodium intake. If a correlation between HSDs and an exacerbated PD gut phenotype exists, adopting low-sodium diets could emerge as a viable strategy to mitigate PD gut dysbiosis and alleviate associated downstream symptoms. We examined differences in gut microbial diversity and composition related to an HSD within a cross-sectional cohort of 281 individuals both with (n=182) and without PD (n=99). Our approach involved employing alpha and beta diversity analyses alongside differential abundance analyses at the amplicon sequence variant (ASV) level. An HSD was associated with significant differences in the gut microbial composition within the control subjects, but not those with PD. Thus, our findings suggest that the factors underlying the distinct gut microbial profile associated with PD appear to exert a more pronounced influence than the impact of sodium. Based on our findings, there is no compelling evidence to advise individuals with PD against consuming HSD for alleviating gastrointestinal dysbiosis. Overall, our research provides more insight into the correlation between sodium and the gut microbial composition of individuals both with and without PD and establishes novel avenues for future research.