The researchers examined both healthy mice and mice with Alzheimer’s disease. They found that mice suffering from Alzheimer’s have a different composition of gut bacteria compared to the healthy mice.
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In mice without gut bacteria altogether, researchers saw significantly smaller amounts of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain. Beta-amyloid plaques form lumps at the nerve fibers in cases of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers also transferred gut bacteria from diseased mice to germ-free mice. They found that the mice developed more beta-amyloid plaques in the brain if they had received bacteria from a diseased mouse rather than a healthy one.
“Our study is unique as it shows a direct causal link between gut bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease. It was striking that the mice which completely lacked bacteria developed much less plaque in the brain,” said Frida Fåk Hållenius, a study lead author and researcher at the Food for Health Science Centre.
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