Circulating short chain fatty acids in Alzheimer's disease: A cross-sectional observational study

Abstract

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), produced mainly by gut microbes, might play a role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We examined the SCFAs profile in 28 individuals with cognitive impairment due to AD (CI-AD), 29 with cognitive impairment not due to AD (CI-NAD), and 10 cognitively unimpaired (CU). CI-AD showed higher levels of acetate and valerate and lower levels of butyrate than CU and CI-NAD (p < 0.018). Acetate separated CI-AD from CI-NAD with AUC = 0.95 while the best neurodegeneration-related biomarker was GFAP with AUC = 0.79. SCFAs use for diagnosis and as treatment target in AD deserve further studies.