Evidence for Gut Microbes to Speed Amyloid Buildup in Alzheimer ' s Disease

A great diversity of microbial life dwells inside us all, largely in the gut, and these microbes interact with our tissues and immune system in ways that the research community has only recently started to map in earnest. There are a handful of obvious and sometimes very serious medical conditions caused by the presence and inappropriate behavior of forms of microbe in the gut, but beyond this even the more common species are clearly an important component of the body as a whole. They play as great a role as many individual organs in determining health and pace of aging, one slice of the myriad complex interactions that take place constantly between the surrounding environment and various bodily systems. One of the more direct paths by which the microbiome of the gut can affect long-term health is via its interactions with the immune system. The degree to which the immune system declines with age is in part a function of its exposure to pathogens and other, similar circumstances, and the more of that taking place the worse off you'll be by the time old age rolls around. It is also a matter of the degree to which the immune system is constantly active, however, due to the rising levels of chronic inflammation that accompany old age. Gut microbes can certainly trigger greater inflammation at any age, to some degree, and over time that is thought to add up. Most age-related conditions are accelerated in their progression by inflammation, both via its impact on immune func...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs