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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Sep 12.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Alzheimer Res. 2022;19(5):335–350. doi: 10.2174/1567205019666220617121255

Fig. 1. Interactions between the Gastrointestinal Tract and Brain of Relevance in AD.

Fig. 1.

The autonomic nervous system innervates the gastrointestinal tract to directly influence the enteric cells, immune cells, and intestinal microbiome. In addition, circulating hormonal secretions can have similar influences on the intestine. In turn, intestine-derived secretions such as bacterial products or metabolites, immune cells, cytokines, neurotransmitters, or enteric hormones may influence nervous communication to the brain directly or travel via the vasculature to affect the brain through mechanisms perhaps involving disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB).