Electromagnetic therapy is a non-invasive and safe approach for the management of several pathological conditions including neurodegenerative diseases. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative pathology caused by abnormal degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars compacta in the midbrain resulting in damage to the basal ganglia. Electromagnetic therapy has been extensively used in the clinical setting in the form of transcranial magnetic stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy which can also be used in the domestic setting. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms and therapeutic applications of electromagnetic therapy to alleviate motor and non-motor deficits that characterize Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) are progressive neurodegenerative diseases with overlap of symptoms in early stages of disease. No reliable biomarker exists and the diagnosis is mainly based on clinical features. Several studies suggest that miRNAs are involved in PD and MSA pathogenesis. Our goal was to study two serum circulating microRNAs (miR-96-5p and miR-339-5p) as novel biomarkers for the differential diagnosis between PD and MSA. Serum samples were obtained from 51 PD patients, 52 MSA patients and 56 healthy controls (HC). We measured levels of miRNAs using quantitative PCR and compared the levels of miR-96-5p and miR-339-5p among PD, MSA and HC groups using a one-way analysis of variance. Correlations between miRNA expression and clinical data were calculated using Pearson's rho test. We used the miRTarBase to detect miRNA targets and STRING to evaluate co-expression relationship among target genes. MiR-96-5p was significantly increased in MSA patients compared with HC (Fold change (fc): 3.6; p = 0.0001) while it was decreased in PD patients compared with HC (Fold change: 4; p = 0.0002). Higher miR-96-5P levels were directly related to longer disease duration in MSA patients. We observed a significant increase of miR-339-5p in MSA patients compared with PD patients (fc: 2.5; p = 0.00013). miR-339-5p was increased in MSA patients compared with HC (fc: 2.4; p = 0.002). We identified 32 target genes of miR-96-5p and miR-339-5p, some of which are involved in neurodegenerative diseases. The study of those miRNAs could be useful to identify non-invasive biomarkers for early differential diagnosis between PD and MSA.

Seasonality is a key determinant in shaping the composition and function of the human gut microbiota, exerting its influence through multiple interconnected factors. These include seasonal variations in diet, environmental conditions (such as temperature, humidity, and sunlight exposure), behavioral patterns (physical activity, time spent outdoors), and the incidence of seasonal infections. These changes are most visible in certain populations where food availability follows a seasonal pattern. Increasing evidence suggests that gut microbiota composition undergoes seasonal variations, which may have significant implications for human health. In patients with non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs), where microbiota dysbiosis plays a crucial role in disease progression, understanding the seasonal effects on gut microbiota is essential. These dynamic changes impact the gut microbiota immune system interaction and may contribute to the onset or exacerbation of various diseases, including chronic inflammatory, metabolic, and autoimmune disorders. Most clinical trials on probiotics do not consider seasonality as a confounding variable, which could impact the interpretation of results and therapeutic efficacy, potentially biasing estimates of intervention efficacy or associations with disease. This review examines the current evidence on gut microbiota seasonality, discusses its potential bias, and outlines methodological considerations for future clinical trials.