Cited by 2,137Gut microbiota and healthAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Gut microbiome alterations in Alzheimer’s disease

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Vogt, Nicholas M., Kerby, Robert L., Dill-McFarland, Kimberly A., Harding, Sandra J., Merluzzi, Andrew P., Johnson, Sterling C., Carlsson, Cynthia M., Asthana, Sanjay +4 more·2017·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. However, the etiopathogenesis of this devastating disease is not fully understood. Recent studies in rodents suggest that alterations in the gut microbiome may contribute to amyloid deposition, yet the microbial communities associated with AD have not been characterized in humans. Towards this end, we characterized the bacterial taxonomic composition of fecal samples from participants with and without a diagnosis of dementia due to AD. Our analyses revealed that the gut microbiome of AD participants has decreased microbial diversity and is compositionally distinct from control age- and sex-matched individuals. We identified phylum- through genus-wide differences in bacterial abundance including decreased Firmicutes, increased Bacteroidetes, and decreased Bifidobacterium in the microbiome of AD participants. Furthermore, we observed correlations between levels of differentially abundant genera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of AD. These findings add AD to the growing list of diseases associated with gut microbial alterations, as well as suggest that gut bacterial communities may be a target for therapeutic intervention.

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Crossref · 10.1038/s41598-017-13601-y

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  • These changes include reductions in beneficial genera such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, alongside increases in pro-inflammatory taxa like Enterobacteriaceae.

    “These include reductions in beneficial genera such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, alongside increases in pro-inflammatory taxa like Enterobacteriaceae64.”

    From Artificial intelligence-driven multi-omics approaches in Alzheimer's disease: Progress, challenges, and future directions (2025) · cites this paper as [64]

    The Results section, “AD is Associated with Changes in the Gut Microbiome” (page unavailable), reports decreased Bifidobacterium in participants with Alzheimer’s disease compared with controls. It reports increased Bacteroides and Bilophila, but does not report decreased Lactobacillus or increased Enterobacteriaceae; searches for those taxa found no supporting passage in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Studies using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomic sequencing have consistently identified significant changes in the gut microbiota composition of individuals with AD.

    “Studies using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomic sequencing have consistently identified significant changes in the gut microbiota composition of individuals with AD.”

    From Artificial intelligence-driven multi-omics approaches in Alzheimer's disease: Progress, challenges, and future directions (2025) · cites this paper as [64]

    The Discussion and Results report that 16S rRNA gene sequencing found significant differences in gut microbiome composition between participants with and without AD. The Methods describe predictive metagenomics based on 16S data, not shotgun metagenomic sequencing. This paper therefore does not support attributing findings from both sequencing approaches—or a consistent pattern across multiple studies—to it. (LLM, conf=0.91)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Human studies link gut microbiota to neurodegenerative diseases.

    “Human studies show associations between gut microbiota and neurodegenerative diseases148.”

    From Microglia in neurodegeneration (2018) · cites this paper as [148]

  • A variety of genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in AD etiopathogenesis, including contributions from gut microbiota.

    “A variety of genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in AD etiopathogenesis, including contributions from gut microbiota [13–15].”
  • Human studies comparing the composition of the GM of elderly participants suffering from cognitive impairment with healthy individuals indicate significant changes in GM composition, specifically an increase in pro-inflammatory taxa and a reduction in anti-inflammatory taxa.

    “Human studies comparing the composition of the GM of elderly participants suffering from cognitive impairment with healthy individuals indicate significant changes in GM composition. Specifically, there is an increase in pro-inflammatory taxa and a reduction in anti-inflammatory taxa (104–109).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [32]Ott A Diabetes mellitus and the risk of dementia: The Rotterdam Study Neurology 1999 53 1937 1942 10.1212/WNL.53.9.1937 10599761 · DOI · Paper page

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Authors
Vogt, N. M., Kerby, R. L., Dill-McFarland, K. A., Harding, S. J., Merluzzi, A. P., Johnson, S. C., Carlsson, C. M., Asthana, S., Zetterberg, H., Blennow, K., Bendlin, B. B., & Rey, F. E.
Affiliations
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SE)
Corresponding author
  • Bendlin, Barbara B.
  • Rey, Federico E.
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2017-10-19
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
13537-13537
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2761210275
Cited by
2,137
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 205 · 2025: 322 · 2024: 328 · 2023: 269 · 2022: 339 · 2021: 283 · 2020: 205 · 2019: 119 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 1
FWCI
43.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Alzheimer's Association (R01 AG027161, R01 AG037639, R01 AG021155)
  • Torsten Söderbergs Stiftelse
  • Rush University
  • Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (UL1TR000427)
  • Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
  • Vetenskapsrådet
  • National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000427, NIH P50, AG027161, AG037639, NIH P50 AG033514, AG033514)
  • Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison (UL1TR000427)
  • National Institute on Aging (RF1AG027161, R01AG037639, P50AG033514, R01AG021155, R01AG027161, R56AG037639)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM008692)
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, gut microbiota, dementia, fecal microbiota, microbial diversity, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Bifidobacterium, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, amyloid deposition, gut-brain axis, therapeutic target
MeSH terms
Bacillota, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Aged, Alzheimer Disease, Bifidobacterium, Feces, Female, Humans, Male, Biomarkers, Case-Control Studies, tau Proteins, Bacteroidetes

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