Probiotic-prebiotic therapy improved constipation and gut motility in Parkinson’s disease: Randomised controlled trial

Objective: We determined the effectiveness of a multi-strain probiotic-prebiotic combination on constipation symptoms and gut motility in PD patients with constipation.

Methods: PD patients with constipation (ROME III criteria) were randomized to receive a multi-strain probiotic (Lactobacillus sp and Bifidobacterium sp at 30 X 109 CFU) with fructo-oligosaccaride (prebiotic) or placebo (fermented milk) twice daily for 8 weeks. Primary outcomes were changes in the presence of constipation symptoms using 9 items of Garrigues Questionnaire (GQ), which included an item on bowel opening frequency. Secondary outcomes were whole gut transit time (WGTT), quality of life (PDQ39-SI), motor (MDS-UPDRS) and non-motor symptoms (NMSS).

Results: Of 55 recruited, 48 patients completed the study: 22 received probiotic and 26 received placebo. At 8 weeks, the item on bowel opening frequency (BOF) of GQ showed  a higher mean weekly BOF in the probiotic group compared to placebo [4.18 (SD 1.44) vs 2.8...