Essential
- Researchers compared the cognitive results of 1,110 people with dementia and 111 others who, in addition, had a MICI.
- For this, they used the mini-mental examination score, a test to assess the mental state and the brain functions of a person.
- People with dementia and MICI lost, each year, almost one more point than participants with dementia alone.
If the intestine is our second brain, when sick, could it impact our cognitive functions? Yes, according to a study published in the journal Gut (BMJ). The authors discovered that people with dementia had less good results when they also had chronic inflammatory disease of the intestine (IMB).
MICI accelerate dementia
MICI groups Crohn’s disease and hemorrhagic rectocolitis, which are characterized “by inflammation of the wall of a part of the digestive tract, due to a deregulation of the intestinal immune system“, noted The National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).
During their study, scientists used the Swedish register data for cognitive disorders and dementia (Reduce). They selected 1,110 people with dementia and 111 others who, in addition, had a MICI. All participants had a similar age, the same type of dementia and comparable pathologies treated in a similar way. The objective of scientists was to measure the cognitive differences between these two groups. For this, they used the score of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a test to assess the mental state and the brain functions of a person. Of the maximum 30 points, those who do not suffer from dementia obtain a total of at least 25.
As a result, participants with dementia and MICI had a faster cognitive decline since they lost more than people with dementia. The authors compare this difference to that observed between people treated with one of the drugs available against Alzheimer’s disease and those who do not take it.
Systemic inflammation in question
“Our results suggest that the IBD, and the systemic inflammation they cause, could contribute to faster deterioration in cognitive functions, indicate scientists in an article of The Conversation. This highlights the need for closer monitoring of people with the two conditions. Effective management of IBDs, by anti-inflammatory drugs, nutritional support and, in some cases, surgery, could potentially contribute to reducing neuroinflammation and thus slowing down the increase in dementia”.
Nevertheless, they underline that the link noted does not mean that there is necessarily a correlation between the presence of a MICI and a faster cognitive decline in people with dementia. The study being observational does not allow this conclusion to be asserted, especially since the researchers had no data on the gravity of the IBD and the treatments associated with it.