Could Something as Simple as Probiotics Help People with Alzheimer’s?
Did you know that the microbiota in your gut are talking to the cognitive centers in your brain? Recent science shows that they are. And what they have to say may even be able to benefit people with Alzheimer’s disease.
One of the most significant recent advances in health sciences is the exciting discovery that the microbiota in your gut communicate with the cognitive and emotional centers of your brain. This discovery has led to what is now called the microbiota-gut-brain axis.
The existence of a microbiota-gut-brain axis suggests the very safe, exciting possibility that taking probiotics, the beneficial bacteria in your gut microbiome, and getting more of the fiber and prebiotics that feed them, could improve cognitive health.
A new systematic review has put the research together and come up with some exciting conclusions.
A growing body of studies now points to a link between alterations in the gut microbiota and the onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. This systematic review included five studies of the effect of the probiotics Bifidobacterium infantis or Bifidobacterium breve in people with Alzheimer’s, mild cognitive impairment or oxidative stress in neurodegenerative processes.
The studies found improvement in cognition with one finding improvement especially in memory and language. In one study, functional magnetic resonance imaging showed substantial increase in functional connectivity between brain regions associated with memory and cognition. In addition to cognitive function, one study also found significant improvement in sleep quality.
This review shows that the intestinal microbiota plays an important role in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s and that supplementing probiotics can potentially slow its progression.
Nutrients 2025.17(3):391.
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