The mice which received gut bacteria from those which suffered from Alzheimer’s disease developed more beta-amyloid plaques.
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the conditions that have been studied a lot in the last few years. Specialists have tried to figure out what triggers this condition and how it can be prevented. A new study shows that gut bacteria might be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers observed that intestinal bacteria might be the ones that accelerate the disease but the development of this condition can be stopped through the gut. The specialists believe that they have found a way to prevent and even reverse the condition.
In order to conduct this study, researchers analyzed both diseased and healthy mice. This study was conducted by researchers from the University of Lund in Sweden. They discovered that those mice that had this condition also had a different composition of gut bacteria.
The researchers observed that the healthy mice did not have as much plaque in the brain compared to those which were diseased. When the scientists injected gut bacteria from the healthy mice they observed that the injected mice did not develop as many plaques as the ones that were injected with bacteria from diseased mice.
The mice which received gut bacteria from those which suffered from Alzheimer’s disease developed more beta-amyloid plaques. These beta-amyloid plaques are the ones responsible for the damages that dementia does to the brain. This is because they build up between the nerve cells in the brain of those who suffer from Alzheimer’s.
The researchers mentioned that they find it surprising that the mice which received gut bacteria from healthy mice did not develop these plaques. They mentioned that this study is unique because they were able to discover the link between gut bacteria and this disease.
“It was striking that the mice which completely lacked bacteria developed much less plaque in the brain,” study researcher Frida Fak Hallenius said. “Our study is unique as it shows a direct causal link between gut bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease.”
The researchers mentioned that this is a major breakthrough and that they will continue to study the link between bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers also mentioned that gut bacteria can be responsible for other neurological diseases and that is why they need to continue their studies.
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