Confirm the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and various intestinal disorders

Confirmation of this relationship in a recent study indicates that people with intestinal disorders may be at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Knowing this link can be of great help in achieving earlier detection of Alzheimer’s disease and in developing new treatments against it.

The study was carried out by the team led by Emmanuel Adewuyi, from Edith Cowan University in Australia.

Alzheimer’s disease destroys memory and the ability to think and is the most common form of dementia.

It has no known curative treatments and it is estimated that the number of people affected will be more than 82 million in 2030.

Previous observational studies have suggested a link between Alzheimer’s disease and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, but the nature of the link between the two was unclear, until now.

A genetic link between Alzheimer’s disease and many intestinal disorders has been confirmed. The image shows an artistic recreation of the concept. (Illustration: Edith Cowan University)

Adewuyi and his colleagues have now verified a genetic link between Alzheimer’s disease and multiple intestinal disorders: specifically, there are specific genetic traits shared by people with Alzheimer’s disease and those with certain intestinal disorders, such as diverticulosis, syndrome irritable bowel, peptic ulcer, gastroduodenitis and gastroesophageal reflux.

When the researchers carried out a deeper analysis of the shared genetics, they found other important links between Alzheimer’s disease and intestinal disorders, such as the role that cholesterol may play. Abnormal cholesterol levels have been shown to be a risk for both developing Alzheimer’s disease and the onset of various intestinal disorders.

The study is titled “A large-scale genome-wide cross trait analysis reveals shared genetic architecture between Alzheimer’s disease and gastrointestinal tract disorders.” And it has been published in the academic journal Communications Biology. (Font: NCYT by Amazings)