Intestinal Microflora Changes in Patients with Mild Alzheimer’s Disease in a Chinese Cohort

Abstract

Background: Understanding the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and intestinal flora is still a major scientific topic that continues to advance. Objective: To determine characterized changes in the intestinal microbe community of patients with mild AD. Methods: Comparison of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) high-throughput sequencing data was obtained from the Illumina MiSeq platform of fecal microorganisms of the patients and healthy controls (HC) which were selected from cohabiting caregivers of AD patients to exclude environmental and dietary factors. Results: We found that the abundance of several bacteria taxa in AD patients was different from that in HC at the genus level, such as Anaerostipes, Mitsuokella, Prevotella, Bosea, Fusobacterium, Anaerotruncus, Clostridium, and Coprobacillus. Interestingly, the abundance of Akkermansia, an emerging probiotic, increased significantly in the AD group compared with that in the HC group. Meanwhile, the quantity of traditional probiotic Bifidobacteria of the AD group also rose. Conclusion: These alterations in fecal microbiome of the AD group indicate that patients with mild AD have unique gut microbial characteristics. These specific AD-associated intestinal microbes could serve as novel potential targets for early intervention of AD.