New research in mice for the first time draws a definitive causal connection between changes in the gut microbiome to behavioral and cognitive changes in an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study, published today in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, suggests new avenues involving the use of probiotics to treat and potentially forestall symptoms of dementia associated with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s.
The research was led by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University.
“We found that modulating the gut microbiome by fecal implants in germ-free mice induces behavioral and cognitive changes in an Alzheimer’s disease model,” said senior author Jacob Raber, Ph.D., professor of behavioral neuroscience in the OHSU School of Medicine. “To the best of my knowledge, no one has shown that before in an Alzheimer’s disease model.”
The work follows…
