The Aged Gut Microbiome Harms the Brain

Countless microorganisms live in our brains. They may help us think, but they could also cause neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The Aged Gut Microbiome Harms the Brain

The balance of microbial species making up the gut microbiome has been shown to change with age. Inflammatory microbes grow in number at the expense of species that generate beneficial metabolites such as butyrate. Patients with neurodegenerative conditions, diseases that are characterized by chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction, have been shown to exhibit a distinctly dysfunctional gut microbiome. In human populations, there remain the q…