The following is a summary of a new study published in Nature scientific reports titled “Genetic correlations between Alzheimer’s disease and gut microbiome genera”
Summary:
Research has shown that an imbalance in the gut microbiota is linked to Alzheimer’s disease through neuroinflammation across the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Observational studies have also found that Alzheimer’s patients have less diverse gut microbiomes, which could contribute to the disease.
In this study, the researchers used a large genome-wide association study to analyze the genetic correlation between 119 gut microbiota genera and Alzheimer’s disease.
They found that 10 genera had a significant correlation with Alzheimer’s disease, with three of them (Eubacterium fissicatena, Collinsella, and Veillonella) being independently significant. The study also found that proinflammatory gut microbiota, such as Collinsella, might promote Alzheimer’s disease development through interaction with the APOE genotype.
These findings suggest that the gut microbiota could serve as biomarkers and targets for Alzheimer’s disease treatment and intervention. Further research is needed to understand the causal relationships between the gut microbiota and Alzheimer’s disease.