ArticleAging clinical and experimental research2023
Serum zonulin levels are increased in Alzheimer's disease but not in vascular dementia.
Article in Aging clinical and experimental research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gut microbiota signatures in mild cognitive impairment: a scoping review of microbial taxa and clinical implications.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Pooled it
- The Microbiota-gut-brain axis in vascular cognitive impairment: unraveling the mysterious link and therapeutic prospects.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Pooled it
- IgG positive food elimination diet altered gut microbiota, decreased zonulin in migraine adults: a pilot dietary intervention trial.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Trial
- Observational
- The gut microbiome and ageing trajectories: mechanisms and clinical implications.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Prediction and risk evaluation of delirium after surgery in older patients: development and internal validation of an algorithm from the prospective BioCog cohort study.British journal of anaesthesia · 2026Article
- The aging gut-glia-immune axis in alzheimer's disease: microbiome-derived mediators of neuroinflammation and therapeutic innovation.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Oxidative Stress as a Central Mechanistic Bridge Between Alzheimer's and Vascular Pathologies in Mixed Dementia: Emerging Evidence and Therapeutic Perspectives.Biomedicines · 2025Article
- Protection of Alzheimer's disease progression by a human-origin probiotics cocktail.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Intestinal Epithelial Tight Junction Barrier Regulation by Novel Pathways.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2025Review
- Bridging the brain and gut: neuroimmune mechanisms of neuroinflammation and therapeutic insights.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Review
- Blood zonulin levels in restless legs syndrome: insights into intestinal permeability.Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2025Article
- Gut microbiome-mediated health effects of fiber and polyphenol-rich dietary interventions.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Interconnections between the Gut Microbiome and Alzheimer's Disease: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Assessment of Serum Zonulin Levels in Individuals Diagnosed With Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria.Annals of dermatology · 2024Article
- Chronic constipation in Parkinson's disease: clinical features and molecular insights on the intestinal epithelial barrier.Annals of gastroenterologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundZonulin is involved in the integrity and functioning of both intestinal-epithelial barrier and blood-brain barrier (BBB) by regulating tight junction molecular assembly.
aimSince changes in microbiota and BBB may play a role in neurodegenerative disorders, we aimed to determine whether serum zonulin levels change in older patients affected by different types of dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
methodsWe evaluated serum zonulin levels in patients with late-onset AD (LOAD), vascular dementia (VAD), MIXED (AD + VAD) dementia, amnestic MCI, and in healthy controls.
resultsCompared with controls, serum zonulin increased in LOAD, MIXED dementia, and aMCI but not in VAD, independent of potential confounders (ANCOVA p = 0.01; LOAD vs controls, p = 0.01; MIXED vs. controls, p = 0.003; aMCI vs. controls, p = 0.04). Notably, aMCI converting to dementia showed significantly higher levels of zonulin compared with stable aMCI (p = 0.04). Serum zonulin inversely correlated with the standardized Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (p < 0.05), regardless of potential confounders. DISCUSSION: We found increased serum zonulin levels in patients with aMCI, LOAD and MIXED dementia, but not in VAD; moreover, zonulin levels were higher in aMCI converting to AD compared with stable ones.
conclusionsOur findings suggest that a dysregulation of intestinal-epithelial barrier and/or BBB may be an early specific event in AD-related neurodegeneration.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.