The effect of diet on intestinal bacteria could play a role in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's

Can following a certain type of diet affect the intestinal microbiome, the good and the bad bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract, so as to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease?

According to researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, it's a reasonable possibility.

In a small pilot study, researchers identified several distinct intestinal microbiome signatures – the chemicals produced by bacteria – in participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) but not in their counterparts with normal cognition, and found that these bacterial signatures were correlated to higher levels. markers of Alzheimer's disease in the cerebrospinal fluid of participants with MCI.

Through cross-food interventions, the study also showed that a modified Mediterranean ketogenic diet produced changes in the intestinal microbiome and its metabolites, correlated with a reduction in the level of markers in the diet. Alzheimer's in the members of both groups.

The study appears in the current issue of EBioMedicine, a journal published by The lancet.

"The relationship between the gut microbiome and diet and neurodegenerative diseases has recently been receiving considerable attention.This study suggests that Alzheimer's disease is associated with specific bacterial changes intestinal and that a type of ketogenic Mediterranean diet may affect the microbiome so as to affect its effects.The development of dementia, "said Hariom Yadav, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, co-authored the study with Suzanne Craft, Ph.D., professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine at School and Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Wake Forest Baptist Health .

The randomized, double-blind, single-site study was conducted in 17 elderly patients, including 11 with diagnosed MCI and six with normal cognition. These participants were randomly assigned to follow either the Mediterranean-modified ketogenic diet with little carbohydrate, or a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet for six weeks, and then, after a six-week "weaning" period, to spend to another diet. The intestinal microbiome, fecal short chain fatty acids and markers of Alzheimer's disease, including amyloid and tau proteins, in the cerebrospinal fluid were measured before and after each diet period.

The limits of the study include the size of the group of subjects, which also explains the lack of diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and age.

"Our results provide important information that future interventional and clinical studies can support," Yadav said. "Determining the specific role of these intestinal microbiome signatures in the progression of Alzheimer's disease could lead to new nutritional and therapeutic approaches effective against the disease."