Intestinal Bacterial Flora and Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Despite the huge economic burden of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), effective treatments of this pathology have still not found. As is mostly believed, the pathogenesis of AD is multifactorial. The intestinal microbial flora is the most complex microecosystem in mammals; there are reasons to believe that this flora is in significant symbiont relations with the human organism. The gut microbiome diversity can be considerably impaired by different types of diets, various chemical agents, and by the action of stress. As was found, disturbances of the gut microbial composition may be a factor responsible for some psychiatric diseases. Emerging evidence from recent studies indicates that neurodegenerative diseases might be directly associated with the impairment of the gut microbial flora. Thus, fecal microbiota therapy (FMT) might be a promising approach to suppress neurodegenerative disorders and, maybe, AD in particular.