Gut Microbiota is Altered in Patients with Alzheimer's DiseaseOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Researchers compared gut microbiota composition between patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitively normal controls. The goal was to determine whether gut bacteria differ in AD, a link already shown for other neuropsychiatric disorders.
How was it studied?
Fecal samples were collected from 43 AD patients and 43 age- and gender-matched cognitively normal controls. 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing was used to characterize the microbiota composition in each sample.
What did they find?
Overall gut microbiota composition differed between AD patients and controls. Several bacterial taxa were altered in AD, including Bacteroides, Actinobacteria, Ruminococcus, Lachnospiraceae, and Selenomonadales.
Why it matters
The findings suggest gut microbiota alterations may be involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. This supports gut microbiota as a potential area of investigation for AD, alongside its established role in other neuropsychiatric conditions.