A common gut bacterium may help keep the brain young, UCLA researchers report. They found that Akkermansia muciniphila slows key signs of brain ageing in mice.The team gave the bacterium to 18-month-old mice, roughly equal to a 65-year-old human. Within weeks, the older animals showed fewer overactive brain immune cells and less loss of brain insulation.The study, published in Nature Communications on September 29, identifies the microbe as a potential geroprotective agent.

It works by restoring signals between the gut and the brain that weaken with age.Previous work had shown Akkermansia declines in ageing mice and that antibiotics worsen the fall. The new results suggest replacing it could protect the brain’s myelin and calm harmful inflammation.The researchers stress the work is in mice. A follow-up trial is planned in pet dogs, a better stand-in for human ageing, before any human use could be considered.

The team is now planning a trial in pet dogs, whose ageing better mirrors humans. Human studies would follow only if those results hold.