Probiotics for Preventing Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Alzheimer ’ s disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disease that results in gradual cognitive impairment and eventually leads to dementia. However, despite AD being one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases in aging societies, no clinically successful therapeutic strategies for its treatment or prevention have been reported to date. Studies have indicated that gut microbial alterations are linked to AD. Probiotics are living microorganisms that are known to confer health benefits to the host when ingested in adequate amounts. Certain strains of probiotics appear to influence the central nervous system (CNS) and behavior via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Increasing evidence from preclinical and clinical studies has demonstrated that probiotics possess preventive as well as therapeutic potential for AD. It is speculated that probiotics could ameliorate the progression of AD by modulating the inflammatory process, counteracting oxidative stress, and other possible mechanisms, although further studies are needed to understand the details. In this chapter, we will highlight the current understandings of the effects as well as the possible mechanisms of action of probiotics for preventing cognitive impairment in AD.