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Scientists from Geneva and Italy provide evidence of a correlation between the gut microbiota and the development of amyloid plaques in the brain.
The proteins produced by certain intestinal bacteria, identified in the blood of patients, could modify the interaction between the immune system and the nervous system and trigger the disease.
University of Geneva
An imbalance in the gut microbiota is well linked to the development of amyloid plaques in the brain, which is a harbinger of Alzheimer’s disease. The link had been suspected for several years by the scientific community, it is now proven by a study lasting more than five years, conducted jointly by researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), University Hospitals of Geneva, the National Research and Treatment Center for Alzheimer’s and Fatebenefratelli Psychiatric Diseases of Brescia, the University of Naples and the IRCCS SDN Research Center of Naples.
These results, published on November 10 on Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and announced on Monday in a press release from UNIGE, “Making it possible to consider new preventive strategies based on modulating the microbiota of people at risk”.
How does the intestine affect the development of this disease? The proteins produced by certain intestinal bacteria, identified in the blood of patients, could modify the interaction between the immune system and the nervous system and trigger the disease.
Gut bacteria release lipopolysaccharides and short-chain fatty acids that can reach the brain via the blood and cause amyloid disease and neurodegeneration. Identifying the molecules in the blood that mediate between the microbiota and the brain is one of the crucial conclusions of this study.
“Don’t rejoice too soon”
In total, “89 people between the ages of 65 and 85 were studied, some of whom suffered from Alzheimer’s disease or other neurodegenerative diseases that caused similar memory problems, and others without any memory impairment,” reports Moira Marizzoni. researcher at the Fatebenefratelli Center, guest researcher at the HUG Memory Center and first author of this work.
Scientists will now work to identify the bacterial strains involved in this phenomenon. Giovanni Frisoni, director of the HUG memory center and teacher
in clinical neuroscience at the Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics of the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine, he instead invites “not to rejoice too soon”. If it succeeds in being targeted, the administration of a bacterial cocktail intended to restore the balance of the intestinal microbiota or of products that allow to nourish the good bacteria would only be effective in a “very early” phase of the disease. However, early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases is still proving difficult. “This is only the beginning of the research, insists Giovanni Frisoni, it will take at least several years”.
Who are the people at risk? “People who suffer from intestinal dysbiosis”, recalls Giovanni Frisoni, that is an imbalance of the intestinal flora. “The so-called Mediterranean diet would reduce the risk of dementia by 20%,” he says. This diet favors the consumption of abundant fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals, aromatic herbs and olive oil, a moderate consumption of dairy products, eggs and wine, a limited consumption of fish and a low consumption of meat.
The administration of a bacterial cocktail intended to restore the balance of the intestinal microbiota would only be effective in a “very early” phase of the disease.
One million people affected
Tim Brockmann, president of the Swiss Association for Alzheimer’s Research, says he is “very proud” of the work of the Swiss and Italian teams whose paths seem “encouraging” and should benefit from future fundraising in order to continue the investigation. . “If we can accurately detect the gut bacteria involved, this will make it possible to fight them and act before the disease develops,” he says. The Swiss Association for Alzheimer’s Research contributed 300,000 francs in 2019 to this scientific study and is funding the HUG memory center with 3 million francs over five years.
Sophie Courvoisier, director of the Geneva Alzheimer’s Association, also welcomes this new advance, which represents “a ray of hope” for the prevention and treatment of this pathology.
Alzheimer’s disease directly affects nearly a million people in Europe, not to mention those around the sick. It is the number one cause of dementia.
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