Posted on 05/06/2022 9:42:13 AM PDT by House Atreides
It sounds like something that might have come out of a sci-fi novel, but it's based on cold, hard, printed research: transplanting fecal microbes from young mice into old mice seems to reverse key signs of aging in the guts, eyes, and brains of the older animals.
Further experiments showed that it works the other way too – moving microbes from the poop of aged mice into younger mice caused the younger animals to then show signs of aging, including increased inflammation in the brain and a reduction in a key protein needed for normal vision.
It's by no means a recipe for eternal youth, but as we get older we naturally become more susceptible to wear, tear, and disease – in part due to the way our guts degrade. These experiments show that something could be done about that, although only mice guts have been tested so far.
"Here, we tested the hypothesis that manipulating the intestinal microbiota influences the development of major comorbidities associated with aging and, in particular, inflammation affecting the brain and retina," write the researchers in their published paper.
Increased inflammation around the brain and the retinas in the eyes tends to happen as we get older, while age-related chronic inflammation – called 'inflammaging' – has been linked to specific immune cells.
When the poo microbes were transferred from young to old mice, this inflammation showed signs of reversing. When the transplant was moved the other way, signs of gut aging and inflammation began to appear in the younger mice.
These signs included a loss of integrity in the gut lining (so bacteria could pass into the blood), elevated levels of proteins associated with retinal degeneration, and the over-activation of the immune cells that are tied to inflammaging.
"Our results demonstrate that the age-associated changes in the murine intestinal microbiota contribute to disrupted gut barrier integrity and systemic and tissue inflammation affecting the retina and the brain, but these changes can be reversed by replacement with young donor microbiota," write the researchers.
Scientific studies are giving us more and more of an understanding about all the different ways that our gut microbes are linked to our health – whether that's mental health issues such as anxiety or physical health issues like obesity.
In other words, the mix of bacteria in our bellies really matters, and changing that mix – whether through diet or fecal transplants – has the potential to bring about a variety of different health benefits.
Now there's another option worth exploring for researchers. Future studies are planned to look at how long the positive impacts of these fecal transplants might last for, and which gut microbes in particular are controlling the effects that are being seen. Then, scientists can start to explore whether it could work in humans too.
"This ground-breaking study provides tantalizing evidence for the direct involvement of gut microbes in aging and the functional decline of brain function and vision and offers a potential solution in the form of gut microbe replacement therapy," says gut biologist Simon Carding, from the University of East Anglia in the UK.
The research has been published in Microbiome.
IV infusions with young blood have shown some rejuvenating effect as well.
Rather than taking the blood and poop of youthful donors though, I recommend taking them to bed with you. Its worth a try.
An example of the wide spread effects of the microbiome in the intestinal system. It seems to play a larger role in many things than previously understood; as well as how some problems can be alleviated by introducing new mixtures into the microbiome in the gut.
Here is one article and I am sure there are more.
There’s already a lot of that going on among the political elite In Washington DC.
You mean you’re full of 💩.😜
Let me grow old gracefully.
You mean you’re full of sh..aving cream/be nice and clean/shave every day/and you’ll always look keen.
Our tax money goes to studies like this. A good reason to cut grant money.
What about compacting what’s already there? That might explain why Pete Butigeig looks fairy young.
Once again, a little knowledge proves to be a dangerous thing.
The bacteria in the adult GI tract are from 300-1000 different kinds, but only about 30-40 kinds take up almost all the space. The upper GI tract is dominated by aerobic (live in oxygen) bacteria, the lower GI tract by anaerobic (no oxygen) bacteria. The upper GI bacteria digest part of the food we eat, the lower GI bacteria digest other, not yet digested parts.
Lower GI bacteria are essential in the lower GI tract, but as rule, are extremely toxic if they get in other parts of the body. Outside of the body then tend to inhabit the “coliform zone” of the skin, from about the knees to the navel. Touching this zone with your hands is a big reason to wash your hands after going to the toilet.
People have very individualized sets of GI bacteria, “as unique as a fingerprint”, and develop different sets as they mature. Babies, infants, young children and adults all change out their “biome” as they change their diet.
There are some “bad bacteria” that can mess things up. One type, mostly found in severely obese people, can take up to 1/3rd of gut space, while also making it much easier to gain weight.
Bacteria are just one of the gut microorganisms. The truly dominant kind are gut viruses, which are so numerous that they haven’t yet been counted. Likely in the tens of thousands of different kinds. But on the plus side, over half those we know of feed on bacteria, not us.
There are also yeasts, protozoa, etc., but that starts to get a little *complicated*. That, and all these buggers are interactive with our own stupidly complex body.
Beyond Just Bacteria: Functional Biomes in the Gut Ecosystem Including Virome, Mycobiome, Archaeome and Helminths
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7232386/
It is Nanzi Pelosi's secret to her longevity, lots of poop.
This is old research, it has been supplanted by testing rabbits with pancakes on their heads.
Democrat poo rots your brain..science!
So the fountain of youth is literally what keeps pouring out of an infants’ ass.
So being can be homosexual is a good thing? Hmmm. /s
I C W U D T
Thank you sirrah.
You’re as old as your fecal microbes?
Why do you need a doctor? Just swallow the young mice poo, and it will work its way where it needs to go.
Where to begin...
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