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Antibiotics, gut microbiota, and Alzheimer's disease
Francesco Angelucci1, Katerina Cechova2, Jana Amlerova2
1Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic. francesco.angelucci@lfmotol.cuni.cz.
Abstract:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease whose various pathophysiological aspects are still being investigated. Recently, it has been hypothesized that AD may be associated with a dysbiosis of microbes in the intestine. In fact, the intestinal flora is able to influence the activity of the brain and cause its dysfunctions.Given the growing interest in this topic, the purpose of this review is to analyze the role of antibiotics in relation to the gut microbiota and AD. In the first part of the review, we briefly review the role of gut microbiota in the brain and the various theories supporting the hypothesis that dysbiosis can be associated with AD pathophysiology. In the second part, we analyze the possible role of antibiotics in these events. Antibiotics are normally used to remove or prevent bacterial colonization in the human body, without targeting specific types of bacteria. As a result, broad-spectrum antibiotics can greatly affect the composition of the gut microbiota, reduce its biodiversity, and delay colonization for a long period after administration. Thus, the action of antibiotics in AD could be wide and even opposite, depending on the type of antibiotic and on the specific role of the microbiome in AD pathogenesis.Alteration of the gut microbiota can induce changes in brain activity, which raise the possibility of therapeutic manipulation of the microbiome in AD and other neurological disorders. This field of research is currently undergoing great development, but therapeutic applications are still far away. Whether a therapeutic manipulation of gut microbiota in AD could be achieved using antibiotics is still not known. The future of antibiotics in AD depends on the research progresses in the role of gut bacteria. We must first understand how and when gut bacteria act to promote AD. Once the role of gut microbiota in AD is well established, one can think to induce modifications of the gut microbiota with the use of pre-, pro-, or antibiotics to produce therapeutic effects.
Insights
Alzheimer's disease (AD) may be linked to gut bacteria imbalances. This review explores how antibiotics impact gut microbes and their potential, yet unknown, role in AD treatment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Microbiology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with incompletely understood pathophysiology.
- Emerging research suggests a link between AD and gut microbiota dysbiosis, where intestinal flora influences brain function.
- The gut-brain axis highlights how microbial imbalances may contribute to neurological dysfunction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of gut microbiota in brain activity and AD pathophysiology.
- To analyze the potential impact of antibiotics on gut microbiota composition and their relationship with AD.
Main Methods:
- Literature review synthesizing current research on gut microbiota, brain function, and AD.
- Analysis of antibiotic mechanisms, focusing on broad-spectrum effects on gut microbial diversity.
- Exploration of existing theories linking gut dysbiosis to AD pathogenesis.
Main Results:
- Broad-spectrum antibiotics can significantly alter gut microbiota, reducing diversity and delaying recolonization.
- The effect of antibiotics on AD could be complex and potentially contradictory, depending on the specific antibiotic and microbiome's role in AD.
- Alterations in gut microbiota can induce brain changes, suggesting potential for microbiome-based therapies in neurological disorders.
Conclusions:
- Therapeutic manipulation of the gut microbiome for AD is a developing field with distant applications.
- The efficacy of antibiotics in treating AD via microbiome modulation is currently unknown.
- Further research is crucial to understand the precise mechanisms of gut bacteria in AD progression before considering therapeutic interventions like antibiotics, prebiotics, or probiotics.