Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34996385›Full record

ArticleBMC neurology2022

Serum short-chain fatty acids and its correlation with motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients.

Gang Wu, Zhengli Jiang, Yaling Pu, Shiyong Chen, Tingling Wang, Yajing Wang, Xiaoping Xu, Shanshan Wang, Minya Jin, Yangyang Yao and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
49citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
17.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

49 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Beyond bacteria: a multi-omics view of the gut-brain axis in Parkinson's disease.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Gang WuDepartment of Pharmacy, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Zhengli JiangDepartment of Pharmacy, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Yaling PuClinical Medical College, Shaoxing University of Arts and Sciences, Shaoxing, 312099, Zhejiang, China.
Shiyong ChenClinical laboratory Department, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Tingling WangDepartment of Neurology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Yajing WangDepartment of Neurology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Xiaoping XuDepartment of Neurology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Shanshan WangDepartment of Neurology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Minya JinClinical laboratory Department, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Yangyang YaoHealth Management Center, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Yang LiuDepartment of Neurology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Shaofa KeDepartment of Neurology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China. kesf@enzemed.com.
Suzhi LiuDepartment of Neurology, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, 317000, Zhejiang, China. liusz@enzemed.com.
Wenzhou Medical University · CNShaoxing University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundParkinson's disease (PD) is associated with enteric nervous system dysfunction and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), derived from gut microbiota, are supposed to anticipate PD pathogenesis via the pathway of spinal cord and vagal nerve or the circulatory system. However, the serum concentration of SCFAs in PD patients is poorly known. This study aims to investigate the exact level of SCFAs in PD patients and its correlation with Parkinson's symptoms.

methods50 PD patients and 50 healthy controls were recruited, and their demographic and clinical characteristics were collected. The serum concentration of SCFAs was detected using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. SCFAs were compared between PD and control groups. The correlation between serum SCFAs and Parkinson's symptoms and the potential effects of medications on the serum SCFAs was analyzed.

resultsSerum propionic acid, butyric acid and caproic acid were lower, while heptanoic acid was higher in PD patients than in control subjects. However, only the serum level of propionic acid was correlated with Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRs) part III score (R = -0.365, P = 0.009), Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) score (R = -0.416, P = 0.003), and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) score (R = 0.306, P = 0.03). There was no correlation between other serum SCFAs and motor complications. The use of trihexyphenidyl or tizanidine increased the serum concentration of propionic acid.

conclusionsSerum SCFAs are altered in PD patients, and the decrease of serum propionic acid level is correlated with motor symptoms, cognitive ability and non-depressed state. Thus, the gut microbial-derived SCFAs potentially affect Parkinson's symptoms through the blood circulation. Propionic acid supplementation might ameliorate motor and non-motor symptoms of PD patients, although clinical trials are needed to test this hypothesis.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MicrobiomeParkinson DiseaseCognitionFatty Acids, VolatileHumansFatty Acids, VolatileCognitive ImpairmentDepressionParkinson’s DiseasePropionic AcidShort-Chain Fatty Acidstizanidinetrihexyphenidyl

Identifiers

PMID34996385
PMCPMC8740341
OpenAlexW4205973174

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.