Microbiome and Metabolome Integrated Analysis: Exploring Potential Diagnostic Approaches for Parkinsons Disease Using Tongue Coating Samples

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder with complex pathogenesis and limited treatment options. The current reliance on clinical evaluation for diagnosis, due to the absence of reliable non-invasive methods, presents significant challenges. Traditional diagnostic approaches, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood sampling, are invasive, pose risks of infection, are costly, and often require complex procedures. Tongue coating sampling offers a non-invasive, cost-effective, and repeatable alternative, showing promise for early detection and monitoring of PD. This study explores the feasibility of using tongue coating samples as a diagnostic tool for PD through microbiome analysis, with metabolomics data providing additional context and validation via machine learning models.