Gut Brain Axis News and Research

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Protein identified as promising novel obesity treatment

This week Amgen published data showing that injection of a protein known as growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) facilitated weight loss in obese mice and primates.

20 Oct 2017

Researchers uncover evidence linking mental health disorders and disturbances to gut microbiome

Better understanding the gastrointestinal microbiome may help psychiatrists treat mental health disorders such as depression, highlights a review in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

23 Aug 2017

Gut bacteria play key role in regulating abdominal pain, mice study finds

Scientists at the Science Foundation Ireland-funded APC Microbiome Institute at University College Cork, Ireland, have shown that, at least in mice, gut bacteria play a key role in regulating abdominal pain and its associated changes in the brain and spinal cord.

21 Jun 2017

Restoring healthy balance in gut bacteria may reduce ASD symptoms

Experts have called for large-scale studies into altering the make-up of bacteria in the gut, after a review showed that this might reduce the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

19 Jun 2017

Researchers explore link between gut microbiome and nutrition in autism spectrum disorder

Over the last decade, research has revealed more about the human gut microbiome—the environment within the gastrointestinal tract—where microbes, especially bacteria, reside. Recently, more has become known about the function of those microbes and the microbiome's connection with health and disease.

28 Apr 2017

Probiotics may help treat yeast infections, bowel problems in men with schizophrenia

In a small pilot study of men with schizophrenia, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Sheppard Pratt Health System say they have evidence that adding probiotics -- microorganisms, such as bacteria found in yogurts -- to the patients' diets may help treat yeast infections and ease bowel problems.

5 Apr 2017

Noninvasive dTMS technique helps obese people lose weight by changing gut microbiota composition

A new study finds that a noninvasive electromagnetic brain stimulation technique helps obese people lose weight, partly by changing the composition of their intestinal bacteria—the so-called gut microbiota.

4 Apr 2017

New probiotic may help combat negative health effects of adrenaline surges

U.S. sailors and Marines face continuous periods of excessive stress in "fight-or-flight" situations, triggering surges of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters, often known as an adrenaline rush.

28 Mar 2017

Researchers provide new data and prospects for links between gut microbiota and depression

An international group of researchers headed by André Carvalho has published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic a paper that provides new data and prospects for the links between the intestinal flora and several disorders, notably depression.

16 Feb 2017

Scientists find altered blood-brain barrier and increased intestinal permeability in people with ASD

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has the dubious distinction of being the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

19 Jan 2017

New Baylor study aims to investigate antibiotic effect in children with ASD

Over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2012, John Rodakis, a father of a child with autism, observed his son's condition dramatically improve while taking a common antibiotic.

1 Dec 2016

Disrupted circadian rhythm may not help achieve maximum weight loss after bariatric surgery

A newly released basic science study of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) suggests that a functioning circadian clock, or sleeping at night and being awake during the day, can help patients achieve a higher amount of weight loss following the surgery.

2 Nov 2016

Gut microbes can modify our mood and behaviour, research reveals

If aliens were to examine a human, they would think we were just slavish organisms designed to feed microbes and carry them around.

21 Oct 2016

Antibiotic usage, infections may contribute to manic episodes in people with mental disorders

In research using patient medical records, investigators from Johns Hopkins and Sheppard Pratt Health System report that people with serious mental disorders who were hospitalized for mania were more likely to be on antibiotics to treat active infections than a group of people without a mental disorder.

20 Jul 2016

New study sheds light on link between gut microbiome and the brain

Intestinal bacteria that can boost bravery or trigger multiple sclerosis: An increasing body of research results confirms the importance of the "gut-brain axis" for neurology and indicates that the triggers for a number of neurological diseases may be located in the digestive tract.

30 May 2016

Candida yeast infections more common in men with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

In a study prompted in part by suggestions from people with mental illness, Johns Hopkins researchers found that a history of Candida yeast infections was more common in a group of men with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder than in those without these disorders, and that women with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who tested positive for Candida performed worse on a standard memory test than women with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who had no evidence of past infection.

4 May 2016

Neurons protect intestinal tissue from over-inflammation

The immune system exercises constant vigilance to protect the body from external threats--including what we eat and drink. A careful balancing act plays out as digested food travels through the intestine. Immune cells must remain alert to protect against harmful pathogens like Salmonella, but their activity also needs to be tempered since an overreaction can lead to too much inflammation and permanent tissue damage.

25 Jan 2016

Frozen fecal transplantation effective at providing relief to C. diff patients

Frozen fecal transplantation is effective at providing relief to Clostridium difficile (C. diff) patients, according to a new study co-authored by University of Guelph researchers.

18 Jan 2016

UNC researchers find association between gut microbiota and anorexia nervosa

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine found that people with anorexia nervosa have very different microbial communities residing inside their guts compared to healthy individuals and that this bacterial imbalance is associated with some of the psychological symptoms related to the eating disorder.

5 Oct 2015

Study suggests link between neonatal ghrelin and obesity risk

Our subconscious motivation to eat is powerfully and dynamically regulated by hormone signals. The gut-derived hormone ghrelin is one such key regulator, promoting appetite through its effects on neurons in a small region of the brain called the hypothalamus.

21 Jan 2015