ABSTRACT
458Abnormalities along the brain–gut microbiota axis may have a significant impact on the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative illnesses. There is evidence to suggest that the gut microbiota is crucial to these processes. Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent kind of dementia, is characterized by a continuous decline in cognitive function and the formation of amyloid beta (A) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Systemic inflammation is caused by the composition of the gut microbiota, which makes the gut barrier more permeable and the immune system more active. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) may be compromised as a result of inflammation, which would subsequently encourage neuroinflammation, neuronal damage, and ultimately neurodegeneration. Due to the microbiome’s impact on the gut–brain axis and the signaling pathways of the enteric and central nervous systems, in addition to digestive health, the microbiome has attracted a lot of investigation. This implies that altering the microbiome may be a beneficial treatment strategy for managing or avoiding a range of somatic and neurological conditions, including neurodegenerative disorders. A malfunctioning microbiome damages the gut epithelial barrier because it results in persistent gastric inflammation, which then triggers neuroinflammation and hastens the onset of AD. The results of this chapter point to probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics as novel biological preventatives in the treatment of AD because of their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, ability to improve cognition and metabolic activity, and capacity to produce crucial metabolites for gut and brain barrier permeability.
Further findings of the chapter confirm the gut microbiota’s role in the risk of AD formation and progression. The many mechanisms that may be involved in these processes are reviewed, as well as the potential for probiotics and prebiotics to therapeutically alter relevant pathways.
