Wednesday, June 13, 2018

The importance of gut health for the mind





The gut transports and digests the food we eat to supply nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes to the body. It contains other organs, such as the liver, with important functions. A double-fold lining of the abdominal cavity holds the intestine to the abdomen's wall, holds all internal other organs in place, and keeps the gastrointestinal tract and other organs from twisting around.

However, the gut might be an even more complex organ than previously thought. The gut is seeded with microbiotas right after birth. Although the composition is influenced by both host genetics and environmental factors, the gut microbiome can be remodeled throughout life. The microbial community's formation depends on environmental factors such as dietary nutrients, fiber, use of antibiotics, gastrointestinal disease, and the host's genetic background. Fecal transplants from obese to lean mice have also triggered well-recognizable neurologic complications of obesity in the receiver animals. There are indications that the same relationship is valid in humans as well.

Alterations in the intestinal microbiota show a clear link to metabolic diseases [type-2 diabetes], autoimmune arthritis, and psychiatric disorders. Obese subjects also show deficits in memory, learning, and executive functions. Epidemiological studies also indicate that obesity is associated with a higher risk of developing depression and anxiety, and vice versa. Obesity-associated microbiota may contribute to endocrine, neurochemical, and inflammatory alterations. Understanding the full set of metabolites will open new insights into how changes in the gut microbiome affect systemic metabolism and its alterations in diabetes and obesity. 

Gut microbes play a role in human physiology by synthesizing vitamins and digesting complex compounds like polysaccharides, drugs, and others. Gut microbiota mediates environmental pressures (e.g., diet, lifestyle) on human physiology. For example, over 800 different peptides appear to affect brain function in various ways, indicating a cross-link between energy metabolism, mood, and cognitive function. Gut microbes also play a role in immune cell development and protect from colonization by pathogenic bacteria.

In mice, the Ketogenic Diet (high levels of fat and low levels of carbohydrates) has shown positive cognitive outcomes in epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and autism patients. Detailed studies have shown that the gut's microbiome improved, and the blood glucose levels and body weight decreased. The most exciting finding has been reducing amyloid-beta, a known hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, from the brain. Other studies found that the consumption of raw foods might also be beneficial for mental health.

Bacteria in your gut (the microbiome) are more important than you ever suspected. This gives new meaning to the old adage, you are what you eat. Read more...

Picture credit: Tvanbr


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Friday, June 8, 2018

Working memory is based on the brain's energy cycle







Although the brain can store a whole lifetime of knowledge in its trillions of connections, the number of items that humans can actively hold in their conscious awareness at once is limited, on average, to four or five things. Short-term memory is limited to the duration of active attention; once focus shifts elsewhere, items are stored elsewhere or forgotten. Working memory is short-lived, and immediate intuition and linguistic processing. Cognitive capacity is limited, causing a low threshold for working memory. 

Why is working memory so limited? Sensory information transforms into the language of oscillations in the limbic brain and flows to activate the sensory cortex. The sensory flow, particularly new or surprising information, reaches the associative areas, which triggers conscious decision-making. Changes in memory load break down cognitive capacity. When large chunks of novel information overburden the frontal cortex, timely processing breaks down. Excessive information load changes the normal rhythm of oscillations, causing short-term memory degradation. Patients with neurological disorders, such as schizophrenia, are even more sensitive. They experience memory disturbances even when challenged by a small number of items. 

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Antibiotic treatment can make virus infection more dangerous




Antibiotics are drugs used in the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections. They may either kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses such as the common cold or influenza. Antiviral drugs or antivirals can be used to treat or inhibit virus infections.
Recent work has shown that antibiotics can impair the development of antiviral T cell responses, which occurs as soon as 3 days after taking the drug in an oral form.


Although the outcome of flavivirus infection can vary from asymptomatic to lethal, environmental factors can significantly modulate the severity of the disease. Treatment with oral antibiotics can greatly deplete the gut microbiota and impair the development of optimal T cell responses. This leads to increased infection and immunopathology. The changes in the overall structure of the gut bacterial community can occur after only three days of treatment. This indicates that damages to the gut microbiota may increase susceptibility to virus infections. Combined antibiotic treatment dramatically reduced virus infection survival rate in mice.

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Oral Antibiotic Treatment of Mice Exacerbates the Disease Severity of Multiple Flavivirus Infections




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