Gut Bacteria May Be Linked to Dementia Risk

Bacteroides are a group of bacteria that are beneficial to the gut because they crowd out “bad” infection-causing bugs. According to a new study that analyzed stool samples of 128 older adults with and without dementia, researchers found that patients with dementia had fewer bacteroides in their digestive system. The Alzheimer’s Association’s Dr. Keith Fargo writes, “At this point, we don’t know that this association is causal… We don’t know which came first—dementia or the differences in the gut microbiome.” American Stroke Association, February 2019