Session Information
Date: Saturday, October 6, 2018
Session Title: Tics/Stereotypies
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Hall 3FG
Objective: The current study aims to investigate the role and change of gut microbiota in children with Tourette syndrome (TS).
Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a common neurological disease in children. Although the pathogenic mechanisms of TS remain unknown, a lot of evidence showed the role of basal ganglia dopamine hyper-responsiveness. Previous studies had shown a close relationship among gut microbiota, depression and anxiety. The neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine and their receptors, can also be affected gut microbiota or probiotics. Whether the change of gut microbiota can affect the neuropsychiatric comorbidities or the severity of TS remains to be investigated.
Methods: Ten TS patients with mild tics, 14 TS patients with severe tics, and 11 healthy controls were enrolled. Freshly voided fecal samples were collected for gut microbiota analysis.
Results: Total tic score was higher in children with severe tics compared with mild tics (27.4 ± 7.5 vs. 14.8 ± 4.1, P < 0.001). The history of TS was also longer in severe tics (54 ± 28 vs. 27 ± 30 months, P = 0.034). Children with TS have lower proportion of Prevotellaceae in bacterial family level. At genus level, children with TS had significantly higher proportion of Ruminococcus (P = 0.015). Children with severe tics also had significantly decreased proportion of Prevotella (P = 0.026). At bacterial species level, children with severe tics had lower proportion of Prevotella copri (P = 0.028), Subdoligranulum variabile (P=0.024), and Clostridium bartlettii (P = 0.003). The proportion of Prevotella was negatively correlated with the severity of tics (P = 0.041). The proportion of Clostridium bartlettii and Prevotella copri was also negatively correlated with the severity of tics (P = 0.003 and 0.039, respectively).
Conclusions: We found the decreased prevalence of Prevotella and increased prevalence of Ruminococcus in children with TS. The proportion of Prevotella was also negatively correlated with the severity of tics. Further population-based study may clarify the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of TS.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
WT. Lee, LC. Wong. Alterations of the intestinal microbiota were correlated with the severity of Tourette syndrome in children [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2018; 33 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/alterations-of-the-intestinal-microbiota-were-correlated-with-the-severity-of-tourette-syndrome-in-children/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2018 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/alterations-of-the-intestinal-microbiota-were-correlated-with-the-severity-of-tourette-syndrome-in-children/