Met-Pro Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Met-Pro Study: The role of METhanogens in the PROgression of Parkinson's disease and related neurological conditions
IRAS ID
358942
Contact name
Marta Camacho
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Intestinal methanogen overgrowth (IMO), associated with archaea (a type of microorganism) in the gut, has been found to be more prevalent in Parkinson’s disease (PD) when compared to controls and associated with constipation and worse motor function. Constipation is a risk factor for PD dementia, but the association between breath methane levels and cognition in PD has not been investigated. Pilot data has shown that methane levels were associated with delayed whole gut transit time and with higher faecal archaeal abundance in PD. Moreover, methane levels correlated with worse cognition, particularly memory scores in both PD patients and controls. This study aims to validate these findings in a large cohort of people with PD, people with a high risk of developing PD, healthy controls and people with other neurodegenerative disorders and to investigate whether non-invasive breath tests warrant further investigation as a biomarker in PD cognition and other related neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, the mechanistic link between methane-producing archaea (‘methanogens’) and cognition, and the possible role of gut and systemic inflammation in this, is unknown. This study will also investigate the effect of L. reuteri, a probiotic which inhibits methanogens, on breath methane levels, faecal archaeal abundance, inflammation and gut function markers in high methane producing PD participants. If the findings are positive, this will validate methane breath tests as a biomarker in PD and lay the groundwork for a future randomised controlled trial of methanogen inhibitors.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0615
Date of REC Opinion
9 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion