Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42325435›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in molecular biosciences2026

The gut-brain axis in Alzheimer's disease: early detection, microbial metabolites, mechanisms, and therapeutic opportunities.

Chenyu Liu, Zihan Zhu, Huang Lin, William S Bush, Robert R Jenq, Fabio Cominelli, Jagan A Pillai, Jonathan L Haines, Xiongwei Zhu, Rong Xu and 3 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in molecular biosciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Chenyu LiuDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Zihan ZhuDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Huang LinDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States.
William S BushDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Robert R JenqDepartment of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, United States.
Fabio CominelliDepartment of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Jagan A PillaiCleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Jonathan L HainesDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Xiongwei ZhuCleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Rong XuCenter for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Scott M WilliamsDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Feixiong ChengCleveland Clinic Genome Center, Cleveland Clinic Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States.
Liangliang ZhangDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the leading cause of dementia worldwide, imposes a growing clinical and societal burden, yet no therapies have been proven to alter its progression despite decades of intensive research. As traditional targets have yielded limited success, attention has shifted to modifiable upstream pathways, notably the gut-brain axis, a bidirectional system linking gut microbiota with CNS function. Emerging evidence indicates that microbial dysbiosis may influence key processes leading to AD, including neuroinflammation, amyloid and tau pathology, and cognitive decline. While microbiome composition is associated with AD, it remains unclear at which stage-preclinical, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or AD dementia-these differences first arise, or how specific risk bacteria and metabolites contribute to progression. The precise roles of these microbes and metabolites in AD pathology or brain resilience also remain poorly understood, and few microbiome-targeted treatments have been validated in humans. Existing reviews often overlook host-specific factors that influence microbiome composition and confound associations with AD. To bridge these gaps, we summarize human studies published in the past 5 years. The literature suggests that gut microbial changes may precede clinical symptoms, with consistent dysbiosis observed in AD patients. We adopt a microbiome-centered perspective emphasizing bacteria-driven and metabolite-driven mechanisms, each playing distinct yet complementary roles in neural and bloodstream pathways. These pathways offer potential targets for microbiome-based prevention and treatment but require more human validation. Future studies should leverage longitudinal, multi-omics approaches and artificial intelligence (AI) tools while rigorously accounting for confounders to improve early detection and develop personalized therapies for AD.

Indexed as

Alzheimer’s diseaseAlzheimer’s disease stagesgut-brain axisgut microbiomeinfluential factorsmicrobiome-target therapy

Identifiers

PMID42325435
PMCPMC13275447

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Registered trials

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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.