Association of yoga with cognitive and gut microbiome changes in Alzheimer's disease: An exploratory case-control study.

Yoga intervention was associated with significant improvement in cognitive performance in AD patients.

• MoCA scores improved from 22.33 ± 2.34 to 25.44 ± 2.01 after 12 weeks of yoga
• The improvement was statistically significant (p = 0.001)
• 16 AD patients participated in 60-minute supervised yoga sessions daily for 12 weeks
• AD diagnosis followed NIA-AA criteria with MoCA used for cognitive assessment

Yoga intervention was associated with significant reduction in depressive symptoms in AD patients.

• PHQ-9 scores decreased from 5.78 ± 3.11 to 2.22 ± 1.71 after the intervention
• The reduction was statistically significant (p = 0.007)
• Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to assess depressive symptoms pre- and post-intervention

Beta diversity of gut microbiota shifted post-yoga toward the healthy control cluster, while alpha diversity remained stable.

• Beta diversity was assessed using Bray-Curtis distance
• Post-yoga AD samples clustered closer to cognitively healthy controls (HCs)
• Alpha diversity did not significantly change following the yoga intervention
• 17 cognitively healthy controls were recruited for comparison

Beneficial gut microbial taxa increased following the yoga intervention in AD patients.

• Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Roseburia intestinalis, Bifidobacterium, and Akkermansia all increased post-intervention
• These taxa are generally associated with anti-inflammatory and beneficial gut health effects
• Metagenomic sequencing was used for taxonomic and functional profiling
• Differential abundance analyses were performed using standard bioinformatics tools

Pro-inflammatory gut microbial taxa decreased following the yoga intervention in AD patients.

• Collinsella aerofaciens and Klebsiella spp. decreased post-intervention
• These taxa are considered pro-inflammatory
• Changes were identified via differential abundance analysis using metagenomic sequencing

Functional metagenomic analysis showed partial recovery of metabolic and short-chain fatty acid pathways following yoga.

• Functional profiling was performed via metagenomic sequencing
• Recovery was described as 'partial' normalization rather than complete
• Both metabolic pathways and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) pathways showed improvement
• Stool microbiota were assessed both pre- and post-intervention

This was a small exploratory hospital-based case-control study conducted at AIIMS, New Delhi with limited sample size.

• 16 AD patients and 17 cognitively healthy controls were recruited
• The study was described as exploratory
• Authors noted that larger randomized trials with lifestyle monitoring and multi-omics integration are warranted to confirm causal mechanisms
• The study lacked a control arm without yoga to isolate the intervention effect