The influence of the Gut Microbiota and Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that effects the neurons in the brain and can lead to cognitive impairment and death. The main aspects of Alzheimer’s research focus on genetic factors contributing to the disease, but the microbiota gut-brain-axis may be playing a potential role in Alzheimer’s development. The human body has an abundant microbiota to help our bodies carry out daily needs, but the amount of microbiota present has to be kept in a tolerance range by the immune system. If there is an increase in the amount of gut microbiota present in the human body, inflammation can occur in the CNS and lead to a potential contributor to Alzheimer’s development. A climbing assay was performed to study Elav Drosophila and AD Drosophila locomotor skills. The aim of this study is to survey the diversity of gut microbiota and motor skills in the transgenic Alzheimer’s fruit fly (Drosophila) model, in comparison with ones in the healthy wild-type Drosophila