The following is a summary of “Gut microbiota and metabolome in sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease,” published in the August 2023 issue of Neurology by Kong et al.

Gut dysbiosis and altered metabolites are linked to neurological diseases. Yet, the connection between gut microbiota and sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) needs clarification. Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the gut microbiota and metabolome changes in sCJD and their correlation with disease severity.

They collected fecal samples from 25 patients with sCJD and 23 healthy controls. Fecal microbiota and metabolites were analyzed via 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics. Links between gut microbiota, metabolites, and MMSE, MoCA, MRC scores were analyzed.

The results showed sCJD patients with significant differences in gut microbiota composition and metabolites relative to the healthy controls. Several bacteria taxa in sCJD patients were increased at genus level, such as Turicibacter, norank_f_Christensenellaceae, Eisenbergiella, Bilophila, and Holdemania. A sum of 547 distinct metabolites was found between these groups (VIP > 1, FDR P<0.05). KEGG analysis revealed a significant decrease in the sCJD group for phenylpropanoid-related metabolites, particularly biochanin A. Also, metabolites in linoleic acid and steroid hormone pathways were linked to the MRC scale.

Investigators concluded that gut microbiota and metabolites are altered in sCJD, and some compounds might be biomarkers for evaluating disease severity.

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00415-023-11961-2