Free Republic

Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padova, Italy ===================================================================== Perhaps because gastroenterology, immunology, toxicology, and the nutrition and agricultural sciences are outside of their competence and responsibility, psychologists and psychiatrists typically fail to appreciate the impact that food can have on their patients’ condition. Here we attempt to help correct this situation by reviewing, in non-technical, plain English, how cereal grains—the world’s most abundant food source—can affect human behavior and mental health. We present the implications for the psychological sciences of the findings that, in all of us, bread (1) makes the gut more permeable and can thus encourage...

A study reveals that bowel movement frequency significantly influences physiology and long-term health, with the best outcomes linked with passing stools once or twice a day. Previous research has suggested associations between constipation and diarrhea with higher risks of infections and neurodegenerative conditions, respectively. Gibbons and his team collected clinical, lifestyle, and biological data—including blood chemistry, gut microbiome, genetics and more—from over 1,400 healthy adult volunteers with no signs of active disease. When stools linger too long in the gut, microbes exhaust the available fiber—which they ferment into beneficial short-chain fatty acids—and instead ferment proteins, producing toxins like p-cresol sulfate...

Research on the gut microbiome has triggered a 'revolution' in nutritional science, and in the last few years, dietary fiber has become the "new protein" – added to foods in abundance to feed our gut and boost our health. A recent study on mice, however, suggests not all fiber supplements are equally beneficial. A form that is readily found in oats and barley, called beta-glucan, can control blood sugar and assist in weight loss among mice fed a high-fat diet. Researchers at the University of Arizona (UA) and the University of Vienna say it is the only type of fiber...

A comprehensive study across diverse populations linked specific bacterial strains and bacteriophages within the gut microbiome to type 2 diabetes risk, suggesting potential pathways for intervention. By studying a large and varied cohort, researchers have identified novel microbial species associated with diabetes and highlighted the importance of personalized microbiome profiles in disease prevention and management. Researchers from Brigham, Broad, and Harvard Chan School have discovered that certain species and strains of bacteria are associated with alterations in the gut microbiome’s function and an individual’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The most extensive and diverse study yet on the gut...

Physician scientists found that people with metastatic kidney cancer who orally took a live biotherapeutic product called CBM588 while in treatment with immunotherapy and enzymatic tyrosine kinase inhibitors experienced improved health outcomes. "CBM588 could be exciting in cancer treatment because of its potential to enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor-based treatment, improve patient outcomes and modulate the gut microbiota in beneficial ways," said Pal. "If the positive results observed in this small trial and a previous trial with nivolumab and ipilimumab are confirmed, CBM588 could become a valuable supplement in the treatment of various cancers, particularly for patients treated...

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) result in irreversible damage to the brain and nervous system. Research into these diseases typically focuses on the brain, but mouse studies from the last few years suggest that the microbiome plays a role in the onset and progression of some NDDs, as well. Those researchers report a new link in humans between a metabolite produced by gut microbes and three NDDs. Their analysis suggests that the metabolite DHPS (2,3-dihydroxypropane-1-sulfonate) may help answer critical questions about how sulfur metabolism pathways can connect the microbiome to these diseases. DHPS has not previously been detected in people, and the...

The composition of the intestinal flora can predict the chances of developing serious infections such as pneumonia. Researchers followed more than 10,000 people for six years. More than 600 people who had less healthy intestinal flora developed a serious infection, with this leading in some cases to death. The 602 people who were hospitalized due to an infection showed at the start of the study that they had fewer butyrate-producing bacteria in their microbiome. Butyrate is a small fatty acid that is known to have a positive impact on the immune system of mice. It has also been seen before...

A study has revealed a link between gut microbiota and Parkinson's disease (PD). The researchers found a reduction in the gut bacteria of genes responsible for synthesizing the essential B vitamins B2 and B7. They also identified a relationship between the lack of these genes and low levels of agents that help maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier. This barrier prevents toxins from entering the bloodstream, which causes the inflammation seen in PD. Their findings suggest that treatment with B vitamins to address these deficiencies can be used to treat PD. In ideal conditions, gut microbiota produce SCFAs and...

Researchers have found vitamin D encourages the growth of a type of gut bacteria in mice which improves immunity to cancer. The researchers found mice given a diet rich in vitamin D had better immune resistance to experimentally transplanted cancers and improved responses to immunotherapy treatment. This effect was also seen when gene editing was used to remove a protein that binds to vitamin D in the blood and keeps it away from tissues. Surprisingly, the team found that vitamin D acts on epithelial cells in the intestine, which in turn increase the amount of a bacteria called Bacteroides fragilis....

Disturbed gut flora during the first years of life is associated with diagnoses such as autism and ADHD later in life, according to a study. The study is part of the ABIS study. More than 16,000 children born in 1997–1999, representing the general population, have been followed from birth into their twenties. Of these, 1,197 children, corresponding to 7.3%, have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, communication disorder or intellectual disability. Children who had repeated ear infections during their first year of life had an increased risk of being diagnosed with a developmental neurological disorder later in life. It...

An increased serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) is independently associated with a lower risk for bowel resection with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a study. Lintao Dan and colleagues examined the association between serum vitamin D levels and the risk for bowel resection in individuals with IBD. The analysis included 5,474 individuals with IBD followed for a mean 13.1 years. The researchers found that compared with participants with vitamin D deficiency, nondeficient participants showed a significantly reduced bowel resection risk in IBD (hazard ratio [HR], 0.72), Crohn disease (CD; HR, 0.74), and ulcerative colitis (UC; HR, 0.73). For...

Gut bacteria and a diet rich in the amino acid tryptophan can play a protective role against pathogenic E. coli, which can cause severe stomach upset, cramps, fever, intestinal bleeding and renal failure, according to a study. The research reveals how dietary tryptophan—an amino acid found mostly in animal products, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes—can be broken down by gut bacteria into small molecules called metabolites. It turns out a few of these metabolites can bind to a receptor on gut epithelial (surface) cells, triggering a pathway that ultimately reduces the production of proteins that E. coli use to...

A study of two large European patient cohorts has found that for every 10% increase in butyrate-producing bacteria in a patient's gut, the risk of hospitalization for any infection falls by between 14 and 25% across two large national cohorts. Microbiota alterations are common in patients hospitalized for severe infections and preclinical models have shown that anaerobic butyrate-producing gut bacteria protect against systemic infections. These bacteria were investigated because they are commonly depleted in patients hospitalized for severe infections. Secondly, butyrate may have protective effects in several intestinal diseases (other than infections). The relationship between microbiota disruptions and increased susceptibility...

Researchers have now revealed that vitamin B12 plays a pivotal role in cellular reprogramming and tissue regeneration. The research was focused on an experimental process known as cellular reprogramming which is thought to mimic the early phases of tissue repair. The team found that cellular reprogramming in mice consumes large amounts of vitamin B12. Indeed, the depletion of vitamin B12 becomes a limiting factor that delays and impairs some aspects of the reprogramming process. The researchers validated their findings in a model of ulcerative colitis, demonstrating that the intestinal cells initiating repair undergo a process similar to cellular reprogramming and...

Researchers have shown that changes can be detected in blood tests up to eight years before a diagnosis of Crohn's disease and up to three years before a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. This means the beginnings of inflammatory bowel diseases start a long time before symptoms occur, and in the future may provide an opportunity for doctors to take preventative action before symptoms begin, or prescribe medication when it will be most effective. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are collectively known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). They are incurable conditions which involve excessive inflammation in the gut, leading to symptoms...

Researchers conducted a phase I pilot study to assess the feasibility of using potato starch as a dietary intervention to modify the gut microbiome in bone marrow transplant patients. The study is the first part of a two-phase ongoing clinical trial evaluating the effect of modifying the microbiome on the incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a major complication that develops in up to half the patients who receive a bone marrow transplant and can lead to injury and death. Previous pre-clinical data from the Reddy lab demonstrated that butyrate, a compound produced by healthy intestinal bacteria when they digest resistant...

Researchers have discovered the link between the gut microbiota and Alzheimer's disease. For the first time, researchers have found that Alzheimer's symptoms can be transferred to a healthy young organism via the gut microbiota, confirming its role in the disease. The study supports the emergence of the gut microbiome as a key target for investigation in Alzheimer's disease due to its particular susceptibility to lifestyle and environmental influence. The study shows that that the memory impairments in people with Alzheimer's could be transferred to young animals through transplant of gut microbiota. Alzheimer's patients had a higher abundance of inflammation-promoting bacteria...

Chronic bowel inflammation is based on an excessive or misdirected inflammatory reaction. Experts assume that the immune system also reacts incorrectly to microorganisms in the intestine that do not cause an inflammatory immune reaction in a healthy state. Now, researchers have discovered that yeast fungi could play an important role in this. Trillions of microorganisms colonize the human body, especially the intestine. This microbiome consists mainly of viruses and bacteria, but to a lesser extent also of fungi. However, according to current research, this interaction is disturbed in Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease where the immune cells react...

Researchers suggest that the intervention of probiotics is a potentially feasible strategy for preventing colon cancer. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. Most patients are diagnosed at the middle and advanced stages due to the longer development of malignancies in the colon and rectum, as well as higher concealment compared to other cancers, which results in a narrow treatment window and high mortality rate. Gut microbiota and their secreted metabolites have a significant influence on the initiation and progression of colon cancer. The researchers at IMP have irradiated probiotic JY strain by heavy-ion beams, and obtained an...

Metabolites produced by gut bacteria during digestion can be used to trigger an immune response against colorectal cancer cells, according to new research that points toward a potential treatment for one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The research team found that the metabolites activate a molecule on the surface of the cancer cells that attracts immune cells, called T cells. The metabolites are also able to enter the nucleus of the cancer cells and alter their DNA, which further attracts the attention of the immune system. "What we saw is that these products regulate a key molecule on the...