Probiotics Could Slow Down Alzheimer’s

The bacteria that live in our intestines can interact with the immune system and influence the development of diseases in distant organs, such as the brain.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, a team led by microbiologist Hemraj Dodiya of the University of Chicago tried to determine whether digestive bacteria could influence the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

One in three people over the age of 90 will develop Alzheimer’s

Dementia affects 50 million people in the world and Alzheimer’s is one of the most common forms. One in three people over the age of 90 will develop this disease characterized by memory loss, confusion and other cognitive alterations that progress until the person becomes totally dependent. There is no curative treatment nor can the development of the disease be delayed.

The causes of the disease and how the symptoms are triggered are not known. We know that there is an increase in the aggregation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain and that the immune system reacts by increasing inflammation, which makes things worse.

Researchers believe that gut bacteria may play a key role in advancing or delaying inflammation caused by immune cells.

In laboratory animals, antibiotics modify the course of the disease

Dodiya and his colleagues conducted several experiments on laboratory mice that were genetically engineered so that beta-amyloid plaques accumulated in their brains.

A group of mice were given antibiotics and their immune cells were found not to promote inflammation. By restoring their populations of microorganisms with a fecal transplant from healthy mice, it was found that inflammation markers were increased.

Differences between men and women

For whatever reason, this happened only in male mice. On the other hand, we know that Alzheimer’s affects women more than men. And we also know that the microbiota can influence hormone levels and the development of autoimmune diseases.

The researchers comment that their study should lead to considering whether the treatments that men and women with Alzheimer’s should follow should be the same or different.

They add that the generalized administration of antibiotics to curb Alzheimer’s is not yet justified , but that its effect demonstrates the importance of the microbiome in relation to the disease.

Future antibiotic treatment

Instead of indiscriminately killing bacteria, in the future it may be possible to “plant” in the intestine specific bacteria – probiotics – that will be able to combat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. This is one of the lines of research with the most hope for the effective treatment of the disease.

Several studies indicate progress in this regard. Research conducted by a group of European scientists and published in Experimental gerontology has concluded that probiotic supplementation with Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus acidophilus along with physical exercise can slow the progress of the disease.

Another bacterium that could be beneficial is Lactobacillus plantarum, according to a study carried out at Sri Venkateswara University in Andhra Pradesh, India.

These two studies have been carried out with laboratory mice, but at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) the effect of a combination of probiotics has already been experienced with patients and has been shown to improve inflammation markers.