TY - JOUR
T1 - Of microbes and minds
T2 - A narrative review on the second brain aging
AU - Calvani, Riccardo
AU - Picca, Anna
AU - Lo Monaco, Maria Rita
AU - Landi, Francesco
AU - Bernabei, Roberto
AU - Marzetti, Emanuele
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - In recent years, an extensive body of literature focused on the gut-brain axis and the possible role played by the gut microbiota in modulating brain morphology and function from birth to old age. Gut microbiota has been proposed as a relevant player during the early phases of neurodevelopment, with possible long-standing effects in later life. The reduction in gut microbiota diversity has also become one of the hallmarks of aging, and disturbances in its composition are associated with several (age-related) neurological conditions, including depression, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Several pathways have been evoked for gut microbiota-brain communication, including neural connections (vagus nerve), circulating mediators derived by host-bacteria cometabolism, as well as the influence exerted by gut microbiota on host gut function, metabolism, and immune system. Although the most provoking data emerged from animal studies and despite the huge debate around the possible epiphenomenal nature of those findings, the gut microbiota-brain axis still remains a fascinating target to be exploited to attenuate some of the most burdensome consequences of aging.
AB - In recent years, an extensive body of literature focused on the gut-brain axis and the possible role played by the gut microbiota in modulating brain morphology and function from birth to old age. Gut microbiota has been proposed as a relevant player during the early phases of neurodevelopment, with possible long-standing effects in later life. The reduction in gut microbiota diversity has also become one of the hallmarks of aging, and disturbances in its composition are associated with several (age-related) neurological conditions, including depression, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Several pathways have been evoked for gut microbiota-brain communication, including neural connections (vagus nerve), circulating mediators derived by host-bacteria cometabolism, as well as the influence exerted by gut microbiota on host gut function, metabolism, and immune system. Although the most provoking data emerged from animal studies and despite the huge debate around the possible epiphenomenal nature of those findings, the gut microbiota-brain axis still remains a fascinating target to be exploited to attenuate some of the most burdensome consequences of aging.
KW - Alzheimer
KW - Brain development
KW - Gut metabolism
KW - Gut microbiota
KW - Gut-brain crosstalk
KW - Inflamm-aging
KW - Neurological disorders
KW - Parkinson
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050146889&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85050146889&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fmed.2018.00053
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2018.00053
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85050146889
VL - 5
JO - Frontiers in Medicine
JF - Frontiers in Medicine
SN - 2296-858X
IS - MAR
M1 - 53
ER -