![\"\"](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Zahoor-Shah-SIDE.jpg\")
<\/a>Dr. Zahoor Shah, professor of medicinal and biological chemistry in The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.<\/p><\/div>\n
As we age, however, the demographics of that city shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe diversity of our microbiota changes with aging,\u201d said Dr. Zahoor Shah, professor of medicinal and biological chemistry in The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. \u201cNot only is the overall diversity lower, but we also see higher levels of harmful bacteria and lower levels of beneficial bacteria. This has real effects on health and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n
An imbalance in the gut microbiota \u2014 known as gut dysbiosis \u2014 has been linked to a number of conditions in recent years, ranging from high blood pressure to autoimmune disorders.<\/p>\n
Shah, a neurobiologist who studies brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases, is now focusing on how those changes in gut microbiota may also be connected to the cognitive decline some people experience as they age.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of these neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, start with inflammation,\u201d Shah said. \u201cWe believe microbiota dysbiosis results in neuroinflammation in the brain leading to cognitive decline. We\u2019re learning more and more about the gut-brain axis, but there aren\u2019t many studies that have investigated this specific process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shah\u2019s lab has already completed initial research that examined neuroinflammation and gut bacteria composition in aged mice, as well as how other chronic illnesses that cause inflammation may lead to changes in gut bacteria and cognitive function.<\/p>\n
The study found chronic inflammation elsewhere in the body can lead to gut dysbiosis, neuroinflammation and symptoms that mimic early onset dementia in middle-aged mice.<\/p>\n
The results, which have yet to be published, also found the onset of dementia was especially prevalent in normal-aged female mice. Researchers already know that women are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s \u2014 women are roughly twice as likely as men to develop the disease.<\/p>\n
Shah said the study addresses important questions about what happens in our brain and gut as we age, and how those changes are interconnected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very critical to find out what\u2019s happening in the aging process, in normal aging and those with comorbidities like diabetes, cardiovascular disease or anything else that leads to chronic inflammation,\u201d he said. \u201cAging naturally causes some inflammation, but if there\u2019s already a comorbidity that is causing any kind of inflammation, that increases the chance of this gut microbiota dysfunction and, we believe, increases the chances of cognitive decline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shah hopes to leverage the data his lab has already collected to secure a grant that could fund a larger, more in-depth study to further examine the phenomenon and look for specific proteins that could serve as useful biomarkers for dementia.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also interested in studying whether slowing or stopping inflammation, either through drugs or probiotics, might be successful at delaying or preventing cognitive decline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe origin and progression of Alzheimer\u2019s is very complicated but focusing on stopping the initial source of inflammation as opposed to trying to stop Alzheimer\u2019s Disease itself might be a smart way to make a difference as we continue to learn more about this debilitating condition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dr. Zahoor Shah, professor of medicinal and biological chemistry, said his study addresses important questions about what happens in our brain and gut as we age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":849,"featured_media":77447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,1,42,3,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/849"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77448,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77446\/revisions\/77448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>