As we age, we worry about losing our minds. Normal senescence (doting) has been medicalized, but it is a valid concern when severe and incapacitating. I hope you turn “arrows into flowers” and channel your concerns towards prevention so that you may age with grace, wisdom and acceptance. To do so, prioritize good nutrition and good relationships.
Hugo Rodier, MD
Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease: The Role of Obesity, Gut Microbiota, and Therapeutic Potential of Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Neural Stem Cells
J. Nutrition 2026, Volume 156, Issue 4;101407
“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifaceted neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline. According to the amyloid cascade hypothesis, amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation plays a central role in initiating and driving AD progression. However, therapeutic strategies targeting Aβ have yielded limited and inconsistent clinical benefits, highlighting the need for broader, multitargeted approaches. Growing evidence identifies neuroinflammation as a central, disease-modifying mechanism in AD pathogenesis, supported by elevated inflammatory markers and immune-related genetic risk variants in patients. Multiple factors converge to sustain maladaptive neuroinflammation, including aging, genetic susceptibility, obesity, and the gut microbiota. Obesity, marked by white adipose tissue expansion and chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, promotes blood–brain barrier dysfunction and primes microglia toward proinflammatory phenotypes. In parallel, gut microbiota dysbiosis alters microbial metabolite production, increasing gut permeability, systemic endotoxemia, and neuroinflammatory signaling. Obesity is also associated with alterations in gut microbiota composition and metabolite profiles. Together, these metabolic and microbial cues mechanistically link peripheral dysfunction to central immune activation, accelerate amyloid and tau pathology, and are further amplified by genetic susceptibility and aging. This review synthesizes evidence connecting neuroinflammation with amyloid and tau pathology, emphasizing how obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis amplify neuroinflammation and AD progression. We further evaluate 2 anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategies: omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which modulate immune signaling and gut microbiota composition, and neural stem cell–based interventions, which suppress neuroinflammation through paracrine immunomodulation and microglial reprogramming. By defining key drivers of pathological neuroinflammation and strategies to modulate them, this work provides a framework for developing innovative, multitargeted interventions that can be applied alone or in combination with classical antiamyloid therapies.”
Comment: prioritize omega oils, veggies. Avoid of refined sugars and trans-fats. Nurture your microbiome, and relationships. Exercise, and learn a new language and/or musical instrument.
High vitamin D levels in midlife associated with lower tau protein in older adults
Healio Minute, April 14, 2026 (Mulligan MD, et al. Neurology Open Access. 2026;doi:10.1212/WN9.0000000000000057)
“Participants had their vitamin D levels measured in early midlife and PET scans a mean of 16 years later. Researchers said vitamin D levels may be a modifiable target to lower dementia risk later in life.”
Comment: aim for a vitamin level close to 70. It turns out that vitamin D is a pro-hormone vital for the health of our microbiome.
Bioenergetics and lipid metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease
Journal of Internal Medicine: January 2026, Volume 299, Issue 1; Page 20
“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline. Although amyloid-β and tau pathologies remain central to our understanding of AD, growing evidence suggests that disrupted lipid metabolism and impaired bioenergetics are closely linked to these hallmark features. Genetic, lipidomic and functional studies point to alterations in cholesterol, phospholipids and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which can influence mitochondrial function, organelle communication and glial responses. These processes are further modulated by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, sex differences and systemic metabolic states such as obesity and diabetes, contributing to neuroinflammation and cognitive decline. Although findings are sometimes conflicting, an emerging theme is that lipid and energy metabolisms are central to how genetic and environmental risk factors shape AD pathogenesis. This integrated perspective highlights lipid and bioenergetic pathways as promising therapeutic targets, where metabolic modulators, lipid-directed interventions and lifestyle strategies may complement amyloid-based therapies and offer opportunities for precision approaches, particularly in women and APOE ε4 carriers.”
Comment: Metabolism, energy processing, is critical for optimal brain function. This article could have been better if it had included the brain-gut connection.
Gut microbiota-linked blood metabolites and cognitive impairment
“MedPage Today (4/2/2026, George) reports, “Six blood metabolites produced by or associated with gut microbiota identified early cognitive impairment in a small study.” The circulatory metabolites – indole-3-propionic acid, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid, “choline, indoxyl sulfate, kynurenic acid, and kynurenine – distinguished cognitively healthy older adults from those with mild cognitive impairment with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.79, reported” the researchers. Additionally, the metabolites “separated healthy controls from people with subjective cognitive impairment with an AUC of 0.75.” The findings were published in J. Gut Microbes.”
Comment: “metabolites” are by-products of energy processing. Think of gas fumes in a car. If your microbiome has been running on poor fuel (processed foods,) it will put of “Postbiotics,” or metabolites that inflame your brain. Yeah, “brain fog.”
Intraperitoneal translocation of gut microbiota induces NETosis and promotes endometriosis
J. Gut June 2026 https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2025-336185
“We identified a unique membrane metalloendopeptidase (MME) positive neutrophil subset (Neu_MME) that is expanded in endometriosis and primed for NETs formation (NETosis). These Neu_MME released NETs in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which directly captured endometrial cells and enhanced their proliferation and migration, driving lesion development. Accordingly, inhibiting NETosis or degrading NETs significantly suppressed endometriosis in mice. Furthermore, FMT from patients with endometriosis to mice disrupted the intestinal barrier, promoting the translocation of gut microbiota, particularly Pseudomonas, into the peritoneal cavity and the lesions. Translocated Pseudomonas are a key driver of NETosis and disease progression. Our findings define a gut-peritoneum axis in endometriosis, where gut Pseudomonas promote disease, suggesting that targeting this bacterium or NETosis represents a viable therapeutic strategy.”
Comment: The Brain-Gut connection noted above is not the only one linking our microbiome to other organs. The Uterus-Gut connection is just as powerful. The most common link is difficult menses in women with poor diets. A corollary is the compromised detox function of the microbiome, which allows xenoestrogens, or endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment to have an exaggerated impact on estrogen-sensitive tissue. And guys, that includes the prostate.
A Higher intake of ultra-processed foods may reduce fertility
J. Nutr Health April 15, 2026;doi:10.1177/02601060261433154.
“Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods may lower fertility in men and women and slow human development. The findings “are compelling, particularly because they move beyond maternal diet alone and consider both partners.”
Comment: garbage food compromises metabolism and detoxification in the microbiome. Both functions are critical for the Gonads-Gut connection. See Xenoestrogens above.
Artificial sweeteners: higher fasting insulin levels and HbA1c
“HealthDay (7/2/2026) reports that new research suggests artificial sweeteners “may have unexpected effects on…metabolism.” Investigators “analyzed 21 randomized clinical trials comparing artificial and low-calorie sweeteners with non-caloric options like water or a placebo.” The researchers found that “artificial sweeteners were linked to higher fasting insulin levels and a higher HbA1c.” Additionally, “the analysis…showed a trend toward reduced insulin sensitivity.” J. Current Atherosclerosis Reports.
Comment: I highlighted “unexpected.” Sure, unexpected if you have been brain-washed by the industry making artificial sweeteners! Articles pointing out how they promote insulin resistance have been around for decades, albeit suppressed. Translation: diet drinks are as fattening and damaging as regular sugary drinks.
Pesticides may wreak havoc on the gut microbiome
J. Science 9 Apr 2026: 134-135
“Disruption of complex intestinal ecosystem could contribute to diabetes and other health issues. By altering what gut bacteria produce, pesticides may also influence brain signaling and immune responses. In animal studies, for example, exposure to chlorpyrifos has been linked to depression like behaviors, alongside shifts in gut bacteria. “It’s not one single mechanism. It’s a network of biological effects that can ultimately disrupt communication along the gut–brain axis.”
Comment: a poor microbiome does not detoxify chemicals as well. They will then be more likely to trigger cancer and practically all metabolic diseases, including obesity. Many chemicals are now dubbed “Obesogens.”
Mapping pesticide mixtures to cancer risk at the country scale
J. Nature Health April 1st, 2026
“A new study of pesticide exposure in Peru finds a mechanistic association between exposure and cancer, and shows how “complex pesticide mixtures” can contribute to the development of cancer in people, even at exposure levels currently deemed safe.
The authors of the study, published in Nature Health, said the findings call into question classical toxicological approaches that are based on the evaluation of isolated substances and the setting of safety thresholds, and demonstrate the importance of looking at the impacts of multiple pesticide mixtures.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other regulatory agencies around the world typically evaluate pesticides individually and not in combination, a practice that has drawn criticism.
“We have long assumed that pesticide risks are assessed one at a time, but in reality people are constantly exposed to complex mixtures in their everyday environment — and our findings suggest this overlooked reality may be an important component of cancer risk,” said study co-author Stephane Bertani, who is research director in molecular biology at the French Institute for International Scientific Research (IRD).”
Comment: finally!!!!!! A study that shows chemicals have a synergistic effect on our body. We have long suspected it; it’s just common sense. So, dismissing individual studies that show a mild deleterious effect of a chemical is no longer tenable. It never was.
Some antibiotics can disrupt gut bacteria balance for up to eight years after single round of use
J. Nature Medicine. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04284-y
“HealthDay (3/19/2026, Neff) reports that a “study of nearly 15,000 adults found that certain antibiotics can alter the community of helpful bacteria in our digestive system for nearly a decade.” The researchers “mapped the gut microbiome…of close to 15,000 adults in Sweden.” According to the results, “for some antibiotics, even a single round of use was linked to decreases in bacterial diversity four to eight years later. Overall, the worst effects were seen in the first year after using an antibiotic.” With that said, “not all antibiotics were equal,” as the “damage seen in the gut depended on the type of antibiotic used. Clindamycin, fluoroquinolones and flucloxacillin had the most lasting negative effects on gut health. On the other hand, penicillin V and some extended-spectrum penicillins…were found to be much friendlier to the gut.” The study was published in Nature Medicine. Antibiotic use and gut microbiome composition links from individual-level prescription data of 14,979 individuals.”
Comment: be thankful when a doctor tells you that you don’t need an antibiotic for your sniffles, cough and/or sore throat.
