People with Alzheimer’s disease may have higher levels of bacteria in their brains compared to people without the condition, a small new study suggests.
Although more research is needed to confirm the findings, the study may provide evidence to support the hypothesis that inflammation — including inflammation from bacterial infections — contributes to Alzheimer’s disease, the study’s researchers said.
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“Alzheimer’s brains usually contain evidence of neuroinflammation, and researchers increasingly think that this could be a possible driver of the disease, by causing neurons in the brain to degenerate,” study co-author David Emery, a researcher from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, said in a statement.
…Although the body’s blood-brain barrier typically prevents microorganisms and certain chemicals from entering the brain, this barrier may not work perfectly in people at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and bacteria may in fact get into the brain, the researchers said.
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The scientists found that the brains from the Alzheimer’s patients had seven times more bacterial genetic sequences than the brains of the people who didn’t have the disease…However, the new study does not prove that bacteria play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s, the scientists said. More studies are needed….
[Read the full study here]
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