Prevalence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with gastrointestinal motility abnormalities that could favor the occurrence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of SIBO in Chinese patients with PD and the potential impact of SIBO on gastrointestinal symptoms and motor function. 182 consecutive Chinese patients with PD patients and 200 sex, age, and BMI-matched subjects without PD were included. All participants underwent the glucose breath test to assess SIBO. We examined the associations between factors and SIBO with logistic regression using SPSS. Fifty-five of the 182 PD patients were SIBO positive (30.2 %; 95 % CI 23.5-36.9 %) compared with 19 of 200 in the control group (9.5 %; 95 % CI 5.4-13.6 %); the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.0001; OR 4.13; 95 % CI 2.34-7.29). Motor fluctuations present was higher in the PD patients with SIBO than in the patients without SIBO (70.9 vs. 45.7 %; P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that disease duration, Hoehn and Yahr stage, Unified PD Rating-III score, Unified PD Rating-IV score, and Non-Motor Symptoms Scale score were the factors associated with the SIBO-positive status in PD patients. SIBO was highly prevalent in PD, and nearly one-third was detected. SIBO was associated with worse gastrointestinal symptoms and worse motor function. Further studies are needed to specify the reasons underlying SIBO and worse motor function in PD.

Effect of Urinary Kallidinogenase on Transforming Growth Factor-ß1 and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Expression in Rat Focal Cerebral Ischemic Injury.

BACKGROUND In this study we investigated the effect of urinary kallidinogenase (UK) on transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß1) expression in brain tissue. We also explored the neuroprotective mechanism of UK against ischemic injury by measuring serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level changes after rat cerebral ischemic injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS The rat middle cerebral artery ischemia/reperfusion model was established using the suture method. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: treatment, Gegen control, and blank control. Each group was subsequently divided into 5 subgroups according to time (6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h). Rats in the treatment group were administered UK as treatment. TGF-ß1 expression was observed at each time point using SABC and immunohistochemical staining methods to estimate cerebral infarct volume percentage. Serum hs-CRP levels were also measured. RESULTS TGF-ß1 protein expression in ischemic brain tissues of the treatment group significantly increased at each time point (P<0.01) compared with both control groups. Treatment group serum hs-CRP levels significantly decreased at each time point (P<0.05) compared with both control groups. CONCLUSIONS UK exerts a neuroprotective effect by upregulating TGF-ß1 expression and inhibiting excessive inflammatory responses.