Probiotics drinks have been proven to strengthen memory

Researchers are studying effects of probiotic supplements
Physicians have been looking for ways to reduce the effects of Alzheimer's for a long time. Researchers now found that so-called probiotics could help to improve the thinking and memory skills of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at Kashan University in Tehran found that consuming supplements containing probiotics could improve memory and thinking. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience".

Can consuming probiotic supplements lead to an improvement in the negative effects of Alzheimer's? (Image: Heike Rau / fotolia.com)

Probiotics improves cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients
The new study found that taking supplements with probiotics (in the form of drinks and pills) over a period of only weeks was associated with modest but significant improvements in cognitive function.

Milk drink enriched with four probiotic bacteria
The small-scale study on 52 men and women with Alzheimer's disease looked at the effects of taking probiotics. Half of all participants consumed a daily 200ml milk drink enriched with four probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. casei, L. fermentum and Bifidobacterium bifidum). The other half of the subjects received the daily milk drink without probiotics.

Participants had to submit blood samples and fill out a standardized questionnaire
Blood samples were taken from participants prior to the study, and their cognitive abilities were tested using a standardized questionnaire (MMSE). All of the tests were repeated after the twelve weeks of the study. So the doctors wanted to determine whether improvements can be achieved.

Improvements in test results found in probiotic treatment group
The results showed that the mean score of the so-called MMSE questionnaire was significantly increased in the treatment group with probiotics from 8.7 to 10.6. There were no improvements in the group without probiotics. The points even fell from 8.5 to 8.0.

Results show effects of probiotics over a short period of time
All people aged 60 to 95 remained severely cognitively impaired. But the experts say the results showed positive effects of probiotics over a short period of time.

Previous study already showed success in rats
In a previous study, we have already found that probiotic treatment improves impaired spatial learning and memory in diabetic rats, explains author, Professor Mahmoud Salami of Kashan University in Tehran. But this is the first time that probiotic supplementation has improved cognition in cognitively impaired people.

Taking probiotics also reduces fat and cholesterol in the blood
Treatment with probiotics also resulted in lower levels of fat and cholesterol in the blood, explains the physician. The results indicate that altering metabolic settings could be a mechanism by which the effects of probiotics on Alzheimer's disease and possibly other neurological disorders also act, explains author Professor Salami. Scientists plan to further investigate these mechanisms in the next study.

Further research is urgently needed
The new study raises interesting questions about the connection between the gut and the brain. The improvements in memory and thinking in people with Alzheimer's identified in the study will need to be reviewed in larger studies in the future, scientists say. Because only then can we understand the real benefits of probiotics on our brains. (As)