The Effect of Hericium Erinaceus Mycelium in Non-motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson disease (PD) is considered a multisystemic neurodegenerative disorder, together with the classic motor disability, and a number of non-motor symptoms (NMS).NMS have a significant negative relation with patients' quality of life. In general, both medicinal and nonmedicinal therapies are often advised for PD patients with NMS, but robust evidences for underpinning the clinical effects are limited. Recently, the search for small preventative neurotrophic compounds that are responsible for the maintenance, survival of neurons has attracted much attention. Erinacine A, which is extracted from Hericium erinaceus is the one showed prominent beneficial effects in the central nervous system. It can increase NGF and catecholamine content in the locus coeruleus and hippocampus of rats. This markedly increases neuronal survival in different brain areas and substantially improve behavioral outcomes in various animal models. In a MPTP-induced Parkinsonism model, treatment with Hericium erinaceus mycelium reduced the loss of dopaminergic cell, eliminated neuronal apoptosis and reversed MPTP-associated motor deficits. Thus, this project intends to hold a randomized, controlled trial to assess the effect of Hericium erinaceus mycelium, which is enriched of Erinacine A, in NMS of PD. This project will enroll 80 patients with PD. Subjects will be randomly allocated into study or placebo group. Subjects will take Hericium erinaceus mycelium for 2 years (one capsule per meal per day) and their treatments for PD will not be altered.