Does the gut microbiome offer new therapeutic options for brain diseases?

The surprising and potentially wide-ranging effects that the levels and diversity of bacteria living in the gut have on overall human health, inflammation, and specifically brain health are the focus of a provocative interview with Dr. David Perlmutter in Alternative and Complementary Therapies, a journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Alternative and Complementary Therapies website until August 8, 2016.

In the interview, "The Role of Microbiome Diversity in Brain Health and Inflammation," David Perlmutter, MD, FACN, ABIHM, University of Miami School of Medicine, FL, discusses the role of the microbiome in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), and autism. He points to ALS as an example of how research on the underlying cause of certain diseases may be shifting from a focus on the brain to the gut. Future treatments for diseases such as ALS could involve fecal transplants to restore the integrity and correct the balance of bacterial composition of the intestines.

Regarding the link between the microbiome and Alzheimer's disease, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, and the overuse of antibiotics to treat infection, Dr. Perlmutter states, "I hypothesize that our diets today are affecting our microbiomes and therefore challenging our immune systems. Our diets are setting us up for these opportunistic issues [infections]."