The bacteria in your gut are linked to more than you think...
This week: Alzheimer’s disease
PEOPLE with Alzheimer’s have a different mix of gut bacteria, and now scientists from Italy and Switzerland may have identified the significance of this.
When they compared brain scans and blood samples they found that patients with the disease had high levels of proteins produced by certain gut bacteria. Furthermore, Alzheimer’s is characterised by amyloid plaques in the brain and the study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, showed that people with the largest plaques had the highest levels of these proteins.
"This research seems to suggest that abnormalities in gut microbiota activity in those with Alzheimer’s disease contributes to the development of amyloid plaques," says Lynne Barker, an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at Sheffield Hallam University.
"It is known that gut and brain are intimately connected – what we are beginning to learn is what functions the microbial community in our gut performs."
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