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People in the earliest stage of Alzheimer's disease -; after brain changes have begun but before cognitive symptoms become apparent -; harbor an assortment of bacteria in their intestines that differs from the gut bacteria of healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The findings, published June 14 in Science Translational Medicine, open up the possibility of analyzing the gut bacterial community to identify people at higher risk of developing dementia, and of designing microbiome-altering preventive treatments to stave off cognitive decline.

The researchers have launched a five-year follow-up study designed to figure out whether the differences in the gut microbiome are a cause or a result of the brain changes seen in early Alzheimer's disease.
Source : Ferreiro, A. L., et al. (2023) Gut microbiome composition may be an indicator of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Science Translational Medicine. doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abo2984.