A Novel Approach to Treating Depression – How Probiotics Can Shift Mood by Modulating Cytokines
Michael E. Ash, BSc.(Hons) DO. ND. F.Dip ION has written an overview from a clinical perspective of the emerging science related to the mucosal immune system and the health of the brain in relation to affect. Published by the in house journal from Allergy Research Group it provides a strategic approach to managing individuals using a novel probiotic strategy.
From our early days in utero until we die, the ability of the GI tract to renew and replenish itself and maintain a stable relationship with trillions of bacteria is astounding. On a typical day the innate immune system of our gastrointestinal tract will process more immunological information than the rest of our body in its entire lifetime. It’s an absolute immunological miracle we can consume antigenic particles of food and not drop down dead every time we do so.
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Common Ills are Linked to Memory Loss
Patients with Alzheimer’s disease who have common bacterial infections suffer greater memory loss, claims a recent study published in Neurology. The effect is said to be linked to increased levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNFa) caused by systemic inflammation.
Previous research has suggested that acute systemic inflammation might exacerbate neurodegeneration, so the researchers, based at the University of Southampton, UK, measured the level of TNFa in the blood of 222 elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease and assessed their ability to perform cognitive tests over a 6 month period.
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Autism Rates Climb to 1% of USA Population?
Questions concerning the frequency of individuals being diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum have been frequently raised over the last few years. Instinctively one can consider there seems to be more individuals, especially in school age that require assistance. If you are aged 40 or more and can still remember primary school, you would most likely be hard pressed to think of more than 2-3 children in your school experience that appeared to require special support of some sort.
Anxiety & Fatigue Respond to Natural Agent Better Than to Benzodiazepines
Use of benzodiazepine anti-anxiety drugs (like Valium) reached epidemic proportions two decades ago, the use of which was enshrined in the Rolling Stones song ‘Mothers Little Helper’. While long-term side effects have led to a significant decrease in use in recent times, modern benzodiazepine derivatives are still widely prescribed.
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Although nutritional approaches to anxiety have not seen much use by the medical profession, consumers have obtained some degree of anxiolytic relief through the use of such OTC items as B-complex vitamins, magnesium, GABA, and herbs like valerian.
Brain Health- Potential for Improvement with Vit D and Curcumin
Comment:
A combination of vitamin D3 and curcumin, from tumeric, may boost the immune system, and help it clear the protein plaques linked to Alzheimer’s, says a new study.
The new data, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, may lead to new approaches in preventing Alzheimer’s by using vitamin D3 alone or in combination with natural or synthetic curcumin to boost the immune system in protecting the brain against beta-amyloid.
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Folic Acid-Indication: Parkinson’s Disease (PD)
Research: In this study, researchers measured blood levels of total homocysteine ((t)Hcy), vitamin B(12) and folic acid in patients with Parkinson s disease (PD) and in age-matched controls, and searched for possible associations between these levels with smoking, alcohol consumption, L-DOPA treatment and disease duration in PD patients.
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Is there convincing biological or behavioural evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction?
Vitamin D insufficiency is common in the United States; the elderly and African-Americans are at particularly high risk of deficiency. This review, written for a broad scientific readership, presents a critical overview of scientific evidence relevant to a possible causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and adverse cognitive or behavioural effects. Topics discussed are 1) biological functions of vitamin D relevant to cognition and behaviour; 2) studies in humans and rodents that directly examine effects of vitamin D inadequacy on cognition or behaviour; and 3) immunomodulatory activity of vitamin D relative to the proinflammatory cytokine theory of cognitive/behavioural dysfunction. We conclude there is ample biological evidence to suggest an important role for vitamin D in brain development and function. However, direct effects of vitamin D inadequacy on cognition/behaviour in human or rodent systems appear to be subtle, and in our opinion, the current experimental evidence base does not yet fully satisfy causal criteria. Possible explanations for the apparent inconsistency between results of biological and cognitive/behavioural experiments, as well as suggested areas for further research are discussed. Despite residual uncertainty, recommendations for vitamin D supplementation of at-risk groups, including nursing infants, the elderly, and African-Americans appear warranted to ensure adequacy.
McCann JC, Ames BN. Is there convincing biological or behavioural evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction? FASEB J. 2008 Apr;22(4):982-1001. Epub 2007 Dec 4. View Abstract View Full paper
Is docosahexaenoic acid, an n–3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, required for development of normal brain function? An overview of evidence from cognitive and behavioural tests in humans and animals
This review is part of a series intended for non specialists that will summarise evidence relevant to the question of whether causal relations exist between micronutrient deficiencies and brain function. Here, we focus on experiments that used cognitive or behavioural tests as outcome measures in experimental designs that were known to or were likely to result in altered brain concentrations of the n–3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during the perinatal period of “brain growth spurt.”
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