Aging Gut-Brain Interactions: Pro-Inflammatory Gut Bacteria Are Elevated in Fecal Samples from Individuals Living with Alzheimer's Dementia
Donaldson et al.
The finding, in our words
Participants with Alzheimer's disease showed a pro-inflammatory gut microbiome signature with increased Escherichia/Shigella and Clostridium, and decreased Bacteroides and other beneficial genera. They also exhibited elevated gut inflammation and altered microbial metabolites, suggesting stool analysis could yield non-invasive biomarkers for dementia in care home populations.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
A study limited by sample size found OMNIgene GUT tubes preserved Cryptosporidium DNA better than DNA Shield and FTA cards after year-long ambient storage. qPCR detected DNA in 23/24 OMNIgene, 21/24 DNA Shield, and 17/20 FTA samples, while metagenomics detected it in 13/24, 9/24, and 0/24 samples respectively, guiding decentralised sampling choices.
Halford et al., BMJ military health (paywalled) · source ↗
Analysis of self-collected stool samples from 309 participants demonstrated that proton pump inhibitor use is significantly associated with an enrichment of Streptococcus species in the gut. This confirms the suitability of decentralised self-sampling for conducting large-scale metagenomic analyses in population studies.
Dinesh et al., Pharmacology research & perspectives · source ↗
The study demonstrated the feasibility of a fully decentralised design by successfully recruiting 37 participants and completing follow-up for self-collected stool samples without requiring on-site visits.
Feles & Mattner, JMIR research protocols · source ↗
This pilot study found that mailing self-collection kits to endometrial cancer survivors was feasible and acceptable, whilst also observing that chemotherapy or radiation reduced beneficial vaginal bacteria compared to surgery alone.
Self-reported insomnia and excessive sleepiness were associated with depletion of Eubacterium sp. CAG:251, whereas higher actigraphy-measured sleep efficiency increased its prevalence and longer wake after sleep onset reduced it. These findings suggest that subjective and objective sleep disturbances converge on specific gut microbes, supporting the use of stool sampling and wearable actigraphy in decentralised diagnostics.