Trial Finds Lower Plasma pTau181 in Probiotic Group With Early Cognitive Impairment

Comparing a blood biomarker over twenty-four weeks

ScienceAlert reported on a randomized, placebo-controlled trial within South Korea’s Gwangju Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias cohort. Of 100 people randomized, 40 completed 24 weeks of the KL-P301 multistrain probiotic and 47 completed placebo. The report says the probiotic group showed lower plasma pTau181, better Clinical Dementia Rating results, and improvement on some visuospatial and visual-memory tasks.

This trial does not establish that probiotics prevent dementia, provide clinical benefit, or reduce tau tangles in the brain.

Compared with placebo after 24 weeks, the probiotic group reportedly had a significant reduction in plasma pTau181 and better results on some cognitive measures. Several comparisons were not statistically significant.

The reported finding assesses both cognitive measures and a blood marker associated with tau pathology in people with early cognitive impairment. Its small completion sample and mixed statistical results mean larger, longer trials are still needed.