Zhou Qian, Yang Baiyuan, Zhu Yongyun, Wang Fang, Tai Yuchao, Liu Zhaochao, Chen Jieyu, Liang Chunyu, Yang Hongju, Pang Ailan, Yang Xinglong
Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, P.R. China.
Department of Neurology, Chengdu Seventh People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 690041, P.R. China.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2024 Dec;18(6):1509-1514. doi: 10.1007/s11682-024-00948-w. Epub 2024 Oct 1.
This study explored potential associations of bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine, as detected based on levels of hydrogen and methane in breath after lactulose consumption, with cortical thickness and resting-state functional connectivity in different brain regions. Prospective comparison of 35 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) involving mild cognitive impairment, 35 patients with PD with normal cognitive function and 17 healthy controls showed the largest level of hydrogen alone and the largest combined level of hydrogen and methane in patients with mild cognitive impairment. The comparison also revealed a significant negative correlation between those levels and thickness of the right insular cortex. Mild cognitive patients showed different functional connectivity between the right insula and cognition-related brain networks from normal cognitive patients. Our results suggest that bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine may contribute to cortical thinning and alterations in resting-state functional connectivity in PD involving mild cognitive impairment. These insights support and deepen previous observations implicating the gut-brain axis in the neurological disorder.
本研究基于摄入乳果糖后呼出气体中的氢气和甲烷水平检测，探讨小肠细菌过度生长与不同脑区皮质厚度及静息态功能连接之间的潜在关联。对35例伴有轻度认知障碍的帕金森病（PD）患者、35例认知功能正常的PD患者和17名健康对照进行前瞻性比较，结果显示，轻度认知障碍患者单独的氢气水平最高，氢气和甲烷的综合水平也最高。该比较还显示，这些水平与右侧岛叶皮质厚度之间存在显著负相关。轻度认知障碍患者右侧岛叶与认知相关脑网络之间的功能连接与认知功能正常的患者不同。我们的结果表明，小肠细菌过度生长可能导致伴有轻度认知障碍的PD患者皮质变薄和静息态功能连接改变。这些见解支持并深化了先前关于神经疾病中肠-脑轴的观察结果。
