From: mha23x@gmail.com   
      
   Probiotics 'aid memory in people with Alzheimer's disease'   
   Behind the Headlines   
   Friday November 11 2016   
      
      
   The connection between the body's metabolism and the brain is poorly understood   
   Probiotics may help reduce inflammation   
   "Probiotics found in yoghurt and supplements could help improve thinking and   
   memory for people with Alzheimer's disease," The Daily Telegraph reports after   
   a small study found people given the bacterial supplement had improved scores   
   on brain function    
   tests.   
   Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts promoted as having various health   
   benefits, and are often added to yoghurt.   
   An Iranian research team gave people with severe Alzheimer's disease a   
   probiotic drink every day for 12 weeks, and then measured the changes in brain   
   function test scores before and after the treatment.   
   They found small improvements after the probiotics were given compared with   
   the placebo group, but it is unclear if these improvements were enough to be   
   clinically useful or noticeable.   
   While the results are far from conclusive, they do add to a previous body of   
   research that suggests there may be an association between gut health and   
   brain function.   
   Exploring this association could lead to new insights and possible treatments   
   for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.   
   There are no known safety concerns about probiotics. But based on the small   
   size and short-term nature of this study, more rigorous research would be   
   required before probiotics could be recommended as an evidence-based treatment   
   for people with Alzheimer'   
   s disease.   
   Where did the story come from?   
      
   This Iranian study was carried out by researchers from Kashan University of   
   Medical Sciences in Iran and was funded by a grant from the same university.   
   It was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers in Aging   
   Neuroscience. This journal is open access, so the study is free to read online.   
   The UK media's coverage of this study was generally accurate, although this is   
   early research and its limitations were not fully discussed.   
   What kind of research was this?   
      
   This randomised controlled trial (RCT) looked at whether probiotic supplements   
   help improve cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease.   
   It also investigated the effect of probiotics on biomarkers for inflammation   
   and metabolism in the body.   
   Probiotics are often referred to as "good" or "friendly" bacteria, and are   
   found in yoghurts and other dairy products.   
   Although probiotics have traditionally been recommended for people with gut   
   conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), recent research has shown   
   they may benefit the brain, too.   
   This is because there may be a link between the gut and the brain along what's   
   known as the micro biota-gut-brain axis.   
   This axis is a biochemical signalling pathway that runs between the brain and   
   the digestive system. But its full role in terms of health outcomes is thought   
   by many to not be fully understood.    
   Double-blind randomised controlled trials like this one are thought to be the   
   gold standard when it comes to investigating a potential association between   
   an exposure and an outcome – in this case, between probiotic supplements and   
   changes in cognitive    
   function.   
   What did the research involve?   
      
   This 12-week trial recruited 60 patients with Alzheimer's disease with a mean   
   age of 80. The participants were all matched for disease severity based on   
   gender, age and body mass index (BMI).   
   They were then randomly assigned to two treatment groups (30 participants in   
   each): the control group received plain milk, while the intervention group   
   received probiotic milk (200ml a day).   
   The probiotic drink contained the bacterial strains Lactobacillus acidophilus,   
   Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus fermentum.    
   The patients' cognitive function was measured before and after the 12-week   
   trial using a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). This scale is a 30-point   
   questionnaire used extensively to measure cognitive impairment.   
   The test takes about 10 minutes to complete and assesses cognitive – or   
   thinking – abilities such as attention, calculation, recall, language, and   
   the ability to follow simple commands.   
   One example question is to ask people to count backwards from 100 in sevens.   
   Any score greater than or equal to 24 points out of 30 indicates normal   
   cognition.   
   Blood samples were also collected to assess levels of biomarkers for oxidative   
   stress, which is an indicator of cell damage, as well as inflammation and   
   metabolic profiles.   
   During the study, four patients from each treatment group died from old age. A   
   total of 52 patients went on to complete the study. The data from these 52   
   patients was analysed and the findings were compared between the two treatment   
   groups.   
   What were the basic results?   
      
   Overall, the 12-week treatment with probiotic supplements resulted in an   
   improvement in the MMSE score of +27.9%, compared with a decrease of -5.03% in   
   the control group.   
   In absolute terms this means that the control group deteriorated from 8.47 to   
   8.00, remaining severely impaired on the 30-point scale. Those taking   
   probiotics improved from 8.67 to 10.57.   
   Although the difference was statistically significant, it is still a small   
   change and suggests that even after taking probiotics everyone remained   
   severely cognitively impaired.   
   The probiotic treatment also had a positive influence on a range of other   
   blood markers that were of interest to the researchers.   
   However, changes in biomarker levels for oxidative stress, fasting plasma   
   glucose (a marker of insulin sensitivity) and other lipid (fat) profiles   
   remained insignificant.   
   It is not clear if these have a bearing on the development of Alzheimer's and   
   how any link between them and drinking probiotics might be acting.   
   How did the researchers interpret the results?   
      
   The researchers concluded that, "The current study demonstrated that the   
   probiotic administration for 12 weeks has favourable effects on MMSE score,   
   MDA, hs-CRP, markers of insulin metabolism and triglycerides levels of the AD   
   patients; however, the    
   changes in other biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation, FPG and   
   other lipid profiles are negligible."    
   Conclusion   
      
   This randomised controlled trial looked at whether probiotic supplements help   
   improve cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease over 12 weeks.   
   It also investigated the effect of probiotics on biomarkers for inflammation   
   and metabolism in the body.   
      
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