Healthy gut, healthy mind: The schizophrenia and digestion connection

If you’ve ever had a gut feeling that you are what you eat, new research suggests that you may be much closer to the mark than you think.

The role of the gut – dubbed our body’s most under-rated organ – briefly hit the popular consciousness with the international best-selling book, Gut, by micro-biologist Guilia Enders.

What is becoming clear in this rapidly evolving field of academic research is that our largest sensory organ – about eight metres long if laid end to end – has an intimate connection with our brain, and thus both with our mental health, our emotions and disorders such as schizophrenia.

Often called ‘the second brain’, the trillions of microbes that we carry in the gut produce the vast bulk of the same neuro-transmitters that are used for regulation of the brain. If the vagus nerve, which connects the brain and the digestive system, is cut, the digestive system functions fine on its own.

Enders writes that 10 years ago there was hardly any research linking the gut with the brain, where now there are several hundred academic articles. 
 

World-first study

Adding to that field of research is a project about to start at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute at the University of Wollongong, headed by Dr Katrina Green and Professor Xu-Feng Huang, as well psychiatric Professor Nagesh Pai and psychologist Dr Jason Cusack.

The pilot project will study about 30 patients with schizophrenia to investigate the link between bacteria in our gut and brain functioning to identify new ways to improve cognitive function.

Source: University of Wollongong (from left)  1. Dr Katrina Green    2. Professor Xu-Feng Huang

 

“I find it fascinating that we get these gut feelings,” Dr Green says.

“When a person has a psychotic episode it’s in your face, so that’s what gets treated. The cognitive deficit that comes along with schizophrenia is in the background. 
 

Memory and learning loss

“Research is showing that cognitive deficit – problems with memory and learning – occurs in a lot of people before the first signs of the illness appear.

“I often hear that people’s sons or daughters are performing well at school, and then they go into a decline. By the time they are 19 or 20, they end up with psychosis.”

The project will not only look at ways of improving the brain functioning of those with schizophrenia, but also has the potential of providing early diagnosis for the disease.

The hypothesis of the study is that gut microbes are a key factor in the psychological changes in the brain.

The method will be to examine the gut microbes in the stool samples of patients, both when they are exhibiting symptoms of psychosis, and when they are not.

“Cognition is often not tested by clinicians and is not addressed by current anti-psychotic medications,” Dr Green says. 

Neuro-transmitters in the gut

These gut bacteria produce the same neuro-transmitters that regulate emotion and mental health in the brain – dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, norephinephrine.

“If we can find out what’s dysfunctional, then we can figure out how to fix it. The aim is to try and improve the functioning of people with schizophrenia and restore normality to their lives.”

Clinical psychologist Dr Jason Cusack is the researcher in charge with testing the cognition of the patients in the study.

As part of the Illawarra Brain Injury Service, he is experienced at administering tests to measure impairment of brain function, whether that’s from trauma or psychosis.

“The very interesting thing with schizophrenia and cognition is that it’s becoming more recognised as a core effect,” he says.

“Traditionally, the disease has been seen in terms of psychosis and hallucination, as well as the social factor of withdrawal. We have these negative symptoms of apathy, as well as the positive symptoms of psychosis.” 

Source: University of Wollongong (from left)  3. Dr Jason Cusack 4. Professor Nagesh Pai

Cognition is key

More recently, research and the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, incorporates cognition as one of the key factors in schizophrenia.

Symptoms can include changes in memory and learning, perception and speech, distraction, inability to focus, depression, anxiety and a reduction in self-care.

For Professor Nagesh Pai, the research into the gut and its connection with mental health started in 2009; when he began researching why anti-psychotic drugs often caused weight-gain in patients.

Currently research is investigating a medication derived from lizard salvia; this medication is used   to counter the symptoms of diabetes. This medication has shown promise in mice with both weight loss and improvements in cognition; planning is under way for human trials. 
 

Huge effect on mental health

“We also know that patients with schizophrenia have two to three times the risk of developing diabetes, compared to the general population,” Dr Pai says.

“We are trying to find out the part that genetic factors play in this, as well as social or environmental factors. The aetiology of schizophrenia is multifactorial and while the role of genetic factors are well established further work is needed investigating the role of environmental and social factors in controlling diabetes in this population.

The UOW research team believe that altered gut microbes effect the neuronal functioning of the brain.

There is a lot of evidence that there is a bi-directional communication between the brain and the gut and that both influence the functioning of each other.

“If we are able to establish this, a new direction may be provided for the management of schizophrenia.”

 
Story By: William Verity 

Source: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/hub/university-wollongong (29/02/2024)

 

New research finds taking a vacation could help you live longer

Zameena Mejia | @ZamTheWriter

8:00 AM ET Thu, 30 Aug 2018

Vladimir Vladimirov | Getty Images

Thinking about skipping those vacation days? Don't. One of the longest follow-up studies in the world finds vacations can actually prolong your life.
And if you think your spin classes and kombucha habit will make up for postponing that dream cruise and save you from your jam-packed, hard driving life, think again. An improved, healthier lifestyle will not compensate for working too hard and not taking your holidays, University of Helsinki professor Timo Strandberg said Tuesday at the annual European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress. "Vacations can be a good way to relieve stress."
The new findings are a follow-up to the Helsinki Businessmen Study, research that for decades has followed 1,222 male executives born between 1919 and 1934. Each had at least one risk factor for heart disease (for example, the men smoked, were overweight, or had high blood pressure or high cholesterol).
The research, which began in the 1960s, evolved into a longitudinal study in the 1970s to better understand cardiovascular diseases. The work was extended through 2014 as a longitudinal study, focusing in part on how mid-life risk factors can impact quality of life and well-being in old age.

For the study, the men were randomly split into two groups. In one, a control, men lived their lives as they always did and did not meet with the study's investigators. Men in the other group, an intervention group, were given advice on how to improve their health. These men were asked to exercise, improve their diets, reach a healthy weight or stop smoking.

Strandberg found that the men who improved their lifestyles had a higher mortality rate if they shortchanged their vacations. At the study's 15-year check-in, those in the intervention group had higher mortality rates than those in the control group. The culprit? Working too hard, not sleeping enough and not taking enough vacation.
In fact, those in the intervention group, the ones with improved and healthier lifestyles, had a 37 percent higher chance of dying between 1974 and 2004 if they'd taken vacations lasting less than three weeks when compared to those who took vacations lasting three weeks or more.
After 2004, mortality rates for men in both groups were the same. (By then, the men had reached their 80s and 90s.)
While dramatic, this new research won't likely impact most Americans' vacation habits. Most American workers don't get that many paid days to begin with. Younger workers might not have the work experience to hit the magic three weeks of vacation noted in the study. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average worker has logged 20 years of experience before earning 20 paid days or more in some positions.
Even if they do have the time, many workers feel they can't take it. Americans have put off vacation because they feel they have too much work to do and too many family obligations. Many feel a vacation is simply a luxury they can't afford.
Given that experts find that vacation can help you be more productive when you return to work, maybe it's time to put in that request for a few days off.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/30/new-study-finds-taking-your-vacation-could-help-you-live-longer.html

Income of workforce is linked to their height

Income of workforce is linked to their height

HRK News Bureau | New Delhi | Thursday, 16 August 2018

According to a World Bank report, two‐thirds of India’s current workforce was stunted in childhood and that's affecting their income.

171 million children under the age of five were stunted in the year 2014. According to the World Bank, this phenomenon, wherein children are excessively short for their age, is affecting their income levels.

Stunting in childhood is worrisome because it is associated with adverse outcomes throughout the life cycle. The undernourishment and disease that cause stunting impair brain development, leading to lower cognitive and socio-emotional skills, lower levels of educational attainment, and hence, lower incomes.

According to a World Bank report, two‐thirds of India’s current workforce was stunted in childhood.

Data reveals that on an average, an additional centimeter in height translates into 1.7 per cent higher wages in the labour market.

The rationale is that, had the stunted members of the current workforce not been stunted in childhood and attained regular height, they would not have suffered impaired cognitive development in their early years, nor would they have received less education.
Their income today would have been higher by a percentage that reflects the education penalty associated with childhood stunting, the returns to education, the adult height penalty to childhood stunting, the returns to height, the cognitive skills penalty to childhood stunting, and the returns to cognitive skills.

The average reduction of wages due to stunting for South Asia was 10 per cent, while that for North America was two per cent. The Middle East and North Africa do better, with a reduction of four per cent, compared to Europe and Central Asia with a reduction of five per cent.

© 2016 HR Katha

Source:(16/08/2018).

Feeding your baby solids early may help them sleep, study suggests

Feeding your baby solids early may help them sleep, study suggest

Advice on when to introduce babies to solid food has been hotly disputed for years, but the latest research seems to indicate that earlier is better

Nicola Davis @NicolaKSDavis

Mon 9 Jul 2018 16.02 BST Last modified on Tue 10 Jul 2018 00.50 BST

Photograph: NataliaDeriabina/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Introducing solid food to babies before they reach six months might offer a small improvement to their sleep, new research suggests.
Researchers from the UK and US looked at data collected as part of a clinical trial exploring whether early introduction of certain foods could reduce the chance of an infant developing an allergy to them. As part of the study the team also looked the impact on other measures, including growth and sleep.
“An added benefit (of early introduction of solids) is that it seems to confer better sleep for the children,” said Gideon Lack, professor of paediatric allergy at King’s College London, and a co-author of the research.
Writing in the journal Jama Pediatrics, Lack and a team of researchers behind the study say while there is a common belief that eating solid food helps a baby to sleep better – with one NHS survey suggesting most mothers give their child food before five months – many sources of advice for new parents, including the NHS and the National Childbirth Trust, recommend that parents should wait until six months before introducing solids.
“We believe the most likely explanation for our findings of improved sleep is that that these babies are less hungry” said Lack, adding that solid foods might mean less regurgitation or greater feelings of being full.

 

More than 1300 healthy breastfed three-month-olds were split randomly into two groups in one the babies were exclusively breastfed until they were six months old – as current guidelines recommend – while children in the other group were breastfed and given solid foods, including peanuts, eggs and wheat, from the age of three months, in addition to breastfeeding. After six months babies in both groups were eating a range of solids.
The children’s health and behaviour was followed for three years, with their sleep and consumption of solid food tracked by families through questionnaires.
While not all babies were kept to their allotted regime, on average, babies who were in the breastfeeding only group were first introduced to solids at around 23 weeks, while those in the other group encountered the foods at around 16 weeks
The results, based on data from 1,162 infants and taking into account factors such birth weight and whether children had eczema, reveal babies introduced to solids from three months slept, on average, two hours more a week at the age of six months, than the babies who were only breastfed. They also woke around two fewer times at night per week at six months and had just over 9% fewer incidents of waking up during the night over the course of the study.
The team found that the more closely parents stuck to the early introduction programme, the stronger the effect.
Lack said a crucial finding is that parents who were asked to exclusively breastfeed had almost twice the odds of reporting a serious problem with their child’s sleep than those who were asked to introduce their babies to solid food early.
The team did note that the study did not use sensors to monitor infants’ sleep and that parents might have misreported sleeping behaviour because they had previously encountered the idea that babies fed solid foods earlier sleep better.
However Professor Amy Brown of Swansea University, whose research includes weaning of babies, said the benefits revealed by the study were “minimal” in real-world terms, and that other research showed no rewards for early introduction of solids.
“There is no clear physiological reason why introducing solids foods early would help a baby sleep, especially not for the very small amounts parents were instructed to give in this trial,” she said.
Brown urged caution, noting that no difference in waking was seen until after five months, despite one group being introduced to solids from three months, and that self-report of infant sleep by tired parents was unlikely to be precise.
Prof Mary Fewtrell, nutrition lead for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health welcomed the study, noting the RCPCH currently recommends solid foods are not introduced before four months, but that the evidence base for current advise is more than 10 years old and is currently under review in the UK and EU. “We expect to see updated recommendations on infant feeding in the not too distant future,” she said.
Erin Leichman, a senior research psychologist at St Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, and executive director of the Pediatric Sleep Council said while the impact of early introduction of solid foods likely varied across babies, the findings are important. “Results of this study certainly warrant further research on the topic, particularly addressing how long babies continue to breastfeed despite introduction of solids and how parents interact with their babies at bedtime and during the night after a night waking, which can be related to sleep and night wakings,” she said. “At this point, results of this study do not indicate that solids should be introduced early for all babies.” Making the decision about when to introduce solid foods should be one that is family-based, and made with a trusted health-care provider.”

Source: The Guardian

Uranium ‘widespread’ in India’s groundwater

Uranium ‘widespread’ in India’s groundwater

Groundwater is used to re-supply dried-up wells Copyright: Jeremy Horner/Panos

Speed read

• Excessive groundwater extraction releasing uranium in aquifers
• Chemical traces in water linked to chronic kidney disease
• Routine groundwater testing needs to cover uranium aside from arsenic, fluoride

By: M. Sreelata

[NEW DELHI] Excessive withdrawal of groundwater across India is not only lowering the water table, it is also contaminating water with uranium.

According to a study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, uranium contamination is “an emerging and widespread phenomenon”. It analysed aquifers in 16 of India’s 29 states, focusing on western Rajasthan and Gujarat where uranium concentrations are higher than the WHO’s safe limit of 30 micrograms per litre.

Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke University in North Carolina, United States, who is the lead author of the study, tells SciDev.Net that “the decline in groundwater levels accelerates uranium mobilisation to groundwater”. Uranium build-up may also be linked to nitrate pollutants released from chemical fertilisers, which make uranium more soluble (as it is insoluble in its natural form).

“The urgent next step is to see if we can identify areas of high prevalence of kidney disease that could be associated with high uranium levels in drinking water”

- Avner Vengosh, Duke University

India is the world’s largest user of groundwater pumped up through borewells. The World Bank reports that more than 60 per cent of irrigated agriculture and 85 per cent of drinking water depend on the resource.

Vengosh suggests that India’s water agencies make groundwater management a priority to protect people from the harmful effects of exposure to uranium, which include a higher risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). “The urgent next step is to see if we can identify areas of high prevalence of kidney disease that could be associated with high uranium levels in drinking water,” he says.

Sunderrajan Krishnan, executive director of the Inren Foundation, a non-profit water research body based in Gujarat state, says a key finding in the study was the link between water table fluctuations and the presence of uranium. He points out that this is especially noticeable when the water level depletes to the point where uranium-bearing rocks in the aquifers are exposed to oxidation.

“Half a century ago, water levels never reached that low,” Krishnan tells SciDev.Net.

The link between CKD and uranium in India was first made by the state-run Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai, says Krishnan. The disease is prevalent in coastal parts of Andhra Pradesh state.

In light of the study’s findings, authorities should urgently make testing for uranium a routine part of groundwater quality monitoring, says Vengosh. Current tests in India include those for arsenic and fluoride, which are among the more serious contaminants that pose risks to human health.


Source:  

Love Eating Grilled Meats? They May Make Your Blood Pressure Rise, Warns Study

Love Eating Grilled Meats? They May Make Your Blood Pressure Rise, Warns Study

A new research conducted by Harvard has shown that tucking in well-cooked meats, may up your risk of developing high blood pressure.

Food | NDTV Food Desk | Updated: March 23, 2018 10:55 IST

Highlights

1. A Harvard study has linked high BP to consumption of well-cooked meats.
2. Roasting, broiling and grilling were highlighted as 3 main culprits.
3. High temperature cooking releases a chemical that may up your BP.

Eating a grilled chicken sandwich more often, might not be as 'healthy' as you earlier thought it to be. A new research conducted by Harvard has shown that tucking in well-cooked meats including chicken and fish, may up your risk of developing high blood pressure. The three ways of cooking that were highlighted as culprits by the study included grilling, broiling and roasting. The results were presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2018 in New Orleans.
The study showed that people who grilled, roasted or broiled their chicken, beef or fish more than 15 times a month, had 17 per cent more chances of having high blood pressure than those who restricted their well-cooked meat intake to less than four times a month. Overall, for people who preferred their meals well-done, the risk was 15 per cent higher than for those who preferred to eat rarer meats. The reason behind this was the fact that High-temperature cooking releases chemicals that may raise your blood pressure levels.

Increased blood pressure is often a precursor to many cardiovascular diseases. The study looked at the cooking methods of 103,941 men and women, who regularly ate chicken, beef and fish and analysed the development of high blood pressure in their bodies. Lead author of the study, Gang Liu, who is a postdoctoral research student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston said, "The chemicals produced by cooking meats at high temperatures induce oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance in animal studies, and these pathways may also lead to an elevated risk of developing high blood pressure."

Atherosclerosis or hardening of arterial walls is the underlying process for a lot of heart diseases and its causes include oxidative stress, insulin resistance and inflammation. Liu said: "Our findings suggest that it may help reduce the risk of high blood pressure if you don't eat these foods cooked well done and avoid the use of open-flame and/or high-temperature cooking methods, including grilling/barbequing and broiling." The study is still a preliminary one since it hasn't been published in any peer-reviewed journal yet and hence, must be taken with a pinch of salt.
(With IANS inputs)

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/food/eating-well-cooked-meats-linked-to-increased-risk-of-high-blood-pressure-says-study-1827388 (23.03.2018)

Regular Cycling Keeps You Young and Your Immune System Strong: Study

Regular Cycling Keeps You Young and Your Immune System Strong: Study

Cycling regularly may help keep you rejuvenated, young and disease-free, claims a new study. The study published in the journal Aging Cell, revealed that those who cycle enough can delay the onset of diseases normally associated with middle-age or old age by strengthening your immunity system as compared to those who are healthy, but did not exercise regularly. For the study scientists examined 125 amateur cyclists aged 55 to 79.

Thymus gland which makes immune cells called T-cells begin to shrink with time, typically after the age of 20. But in cyclists, the production of T cells was found to be more than their peers who did not cycle.

The analysis revealed that cycling can help preserve muscle mass and strength with age while maintaining stable levels of body fat and cholesterol. Interestingly, the anti-ageing effects of cycling also extended itself on to the immune system. According to the scientists, cycling can help keep the immune system young too and also boost testosterone levels in men.

For the study male cyclists in the study had to be able to cycle 100km in under 6.5 hours, while women had to cover 60km in 5.5 hours. 75 healthy people aged 57 to 80 and 55 young adults aged 20 to 36 were part of the non-exercising group.

Source: NDTV, https://www.ndtv.com/food/regular-cycling-keeps-you-young-and-your-immune-system-strong-study-1821710 (09/02/2018)