Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40434674›Full record

Trial reportInflammopharmacology2025

Randomized controlled trial evaluating synbiotic supplementation as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Mohamed E Ramadan, Tarek M Mostafa, Azza A Ghali, Dalia R El-Afify

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIIRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Inflammopharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05576818 (Clinical Study Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Synbiotic as an Adjuvant Therapy in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT05576818 phase3recruitingnot on this map

Clinical Study Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Synbiotic as an Adjuvant Therapy in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

TypeinterventionalSponsorTanta UniversityRan2022 to 2025Enrolled66ConditionsParkinson's DiseaseArmsLactobacillus acidophilus 10 billion colony forming unit (CFU) and prebiotic fibers
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Probiotic Strains.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Gut Microbiome as a Source of Probiotic Drugs for Parkinson's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
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

4 authors.

Mohamed E RamadanClinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta, 31111, Egypt. mohamed_ehab@pharm.tanta.edu.eg.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-9599-2918
Tarek M MostafaClinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta, 31111, Egypt.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1071-5416
Azza A GhaliNeuropsychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8129-460X
Dalia R El-AfifyClinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta, 31111, Egypt.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1454-4637

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimNeuroinflammatory mechanisms have been closely related to the microbiota-gut-brain axis and could lead to degeneration of dopaminergic neurons with subsequent development and progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). Targeting this pathway for the treatment of PD has sparked a lot of interest. Hence, this study investigates the therapeutic potential of a synbiotic supplement, in conjunction with L-dopa for the management of PD.

methodsThis randomized controlled trial enrolled 66 Parkinson's disease patients, who were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group (n = 33) receiving standard L-dopa/carbidopa (100/25 mg) therapy three times daily for three months, and a synbiotic group (n = 33) receiving the same L-dopa/carbidopa regimen with two sachets of the synbiotic supplement daily for three months. The outcome measures included assessment of Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), malondialdehyde (MDA), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and α-synuclein (α-Syn). Blood samples were collected from all patients for biomarker analysis in serum.

resultsThree months after intervention, the synbiotic group demonstrated significantly greater improvement in motor and non-motor symptoms compared to the control group evidenced by the change in the scores of each part of the MDS-UPDRS. Concurrently, the synbiotic group exhibited significantly lower serum levels of pro-inflammatory marker TNF-α and oxidative stress marker MDA, and significantly higher levels of the neuroprotective factor BDNF.

conclusionSupplementing with synbiotics exhibits promising neuroprotective and therapeutic effects in the treatment of Parkinson's disease patients. CLINICALTRIALS: GOV REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05576818. Retrospectively registered in October 2022.

Indexed as

Antiparkinson AgentsCarbidopaLevodopaParkinson DiseaseSynbioticsAgedalpha-SynucleinBiomarkersBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorDietary SupplementsDrug CombinationsFemaleHumansMaleMalondialdehydeMiddle Agedalpha-SynucleinAntiparkinson AgentsBiomarkersBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCarbidopacarbidopa, levodopa drug combinationDrug CombinationsLevodopaMalondialdehydeTumor Necrosis Factor-alphaBDNFMDAMDS-UPDRSParkinson’s diseaseSynbioticTNF-α

Identifiers

PMID40434674
PMCPMC12354120

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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 Socratic graph.