Gut bacteria can interfere with the main treatment of Parkinson's disease

Description

Patients with Parkinson’s Disease are treated with levodopa, which is converted into the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. In a study that was published on 18 January in Nature Communications, we show that gut bacteria can metabolise levodopa into dopamine. As dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, this means the bacteria can compromise the availability of the medication, even in the presence of inhibitors that should prevent the conversion of levodopa. Check it at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08294-y