Decoding the Gut-Brain Axis: Implications for Neurodegenerative Disease Therapies, Volume II

The gut-brain axis is a bidirectional communication network linking the gastrointestinal tract, its resident microbiota, and the central nervous system through neural, immune, endocrine, and metabolic routes. Disruption of this axis is increasingly implicated in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as in neurodevelopmental conditions including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and Down syndrome. Building on the success of the first volume, which brought together advances on diet, microbial diversity, vagal signalling, and immune crosstalk, the field has moved rapidly toward translation. Live biotherapeutic products, postbiotics, faecal microbiota transplantation, and dietary interventions are entering clinical trials, while machine learning and multi-omics are reshaping how researchers model host-microbe-brain interactions. A second volume is therefore timely to capture the next wave of mechanistic, translational, and computational insights.This Research Topic aims to extend and deepen the scientific discussion launched in Volume I by capturing the most recent advances in understanding, modelling, and therapeutically targeting the gut-brain axis in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disease. We seek contributions that move the field from association toward causation and clinical impact, integrating perspectives from neurology, gastroenterology, microbiology, immunology, nutrition, pharmacology, and data science. Particular emphasis will be placed on emerging themes that have matured since the first volume, including microbiome-based therapeutics such as next-generation probiotics, postbiotics, engineered live biotherapeutics, and faecal microbiota transplantation; outcomes and design considerations from early- and late-phase clinical trials; and artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches for multi-omics integration, predictive modelling of gut-brain interactions, and digital biomarker discovery. By bringing together mechanistic, translational, and computational research, this volume will help define how gut-targeted strategies can be rigorously evaluated and ultimately translated into disease-modifying therapies for patients living with neurodegenerative and related disorders.We welcome submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Mechanisms of gut-brain communication, including microbial metabolites, vagal and enteric nervous system signalling, and neuroimmune crosstalk.• Microbiome-based therapeutics: probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, synbiotics, engineered live biotherapeutics, and faecal microbiota transplantation.• Clinical trial outcomes, real-world evidence, and translational studies of gut-targeted interventions in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disease.• AI-driven and computational modelling of the gut-brain axis, including multi-omics integration, predictive analytics, and digital biomarkers.• Diet, nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental modulators of microbiota and brain health.• Identification and validation of microbial, metabolic, or imaging biomarkers for early diagnosis and patient stratification.• The role of gut-brain immune interactions in neuroinflammation and disease progression.We encourage a wide range of submissions, including original research, methods papers, brief research reports, data reports, systematic reviews, mini reviews and perspectives. Topic editors: R. M. Damian Holsinger Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80706/decoding-the-gut-brain-axis-implications-for-neurodegenerative-disease-therapies-volume-ii