The Impact of Alcohol-Induced Dysbiosis on Diseases and Disorders of the Central Nervous System

J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2022 Jun;17(1-2):131-151. doi: 10.1007/s11481-021-10033-4. Epub 2021 Nov 29.

Abstract

The human digestive tract contains a diverse and abundant microbiota that is important for health. Excessive alcohol use can disrupt the balance of these microbes (known as dysbiosis), leading to elevated blood endotoxin levels and systemic inflammation. Using QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) bioinformatics tool, we have confirmed that peripheral endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) mediates various cytokines to enhance the neuroinflammation signaling pathway. The literature has identified alcohol-mediated neuroinflammation as a possible risk factor for the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), and psychiatric disorders such as addiction to alcohol and other drugs. In this review, we discuss alcohol-use-induced dysbiosis in the gut and other body parts as a causal factor in the progression of Central Nervous System (CNS) diseases including neurodegenerative disease and possibly alcohol use disorder.

Keywords: Addiction; Alzheimer’s disease; Microbiota; Neuroinflammation; Parkinson’s disease; QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Central Nervous System
  • Humans
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases* / chemically induced