Gut Brain Axis News and Research

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Study shows how gut bacteria affect the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Patients with Parkinson's disease are treated with levodopa, which is converted into dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain. In a study published on 18 January in the journal Nature Communications, scientists from the University of Groningen show that gut bacteria can metabolize levodopa into dopamine.

18 Jan 2019

A new frontier in research to better understand gut microbiome and digestive health

Research on the gut microbiome is one of the most promising areas of science today. In a new special issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the American Gastroenterological Association has taken the deep-dive into the gut microbiome that both scientists and the public are looking for to help them better understand the effects of the microbiome on health and disease.

7 Jan 2019

New bacterial species may help fight obesity and metabolic disorders

The MyNewGut project has discovered new bacterial species and strains in healthy people that seem to be effective against obesity, metabolic and mental disorders related to stress and obesity (e.g. depression).

17 Dec 2018

Probiotics may offer therapeutic benefits for biopolar patients

A new study has shown that probiotics may serve as a potential therapeutic approach to bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions.

13 Dec 2018

The effect of probiotics on intestinal flora of premature babies

According to our current understanding, intestinal microflora has a considerable effect upon our health. The initial colonization with bacteria directly after birth could be of significant importance for the development of the intestinal flora, which then accompanies us throughout our entire lives.

13 Dec 2018

National Institutes of Health awards grant to MSU professors for research on neurodegenerative disease

A research collaboration between three Montana State University faculty members recently received a grant to help fund their study on the connection between a rare genetic neurological disease and metabolism, the human gut microbiome and degeneration of the nervous system.

30 Nov 2018

Harmful H. pylori may play a role in Parkinson's disease

While human genetic mutations are involved in a small number of Parkinson's disease (PD) cases, the vast majority of cases are of unknown environmental causes, prompting enormous interest in identifying environmental risk factors involved.

25 Sep 2018

Dietary fiber may delay memory loss, brain inflammation during old age

As mammals age, immune cells in the brain known as microglia become chronically inflamed. In this state, they produce chemicals known to impair cognitive and motor function.

14 Sep 2018

New study gives explanation for food's prominence in memory

Ask anyone if they remember where they ate the juiciest burger, the sweetest cupcake or the smoothest bisque, and they probably can describe the location in great detail, down to the cross streets, the décor, and the table where they sat.

13 Jun 2018

Combination of probiotics and herbal supplement may prolong lifespan, research shows

You are what you eat. Or so the saying goes. Science now tells us that we are what the bacteria living in our intestinal tract eat and this could have an influence on how well we age.

1 Jun 2018

Prebiotics could enhance the learning and memory skills of infants

This news article describes a recent study which showed that learning and memory skills could be enhanced by adding prebiotics to piglet feed.

19 Jan 2018

Research explores benefits of gut health from several angles

Gut health is a key area of modern health research, with intensive examination of communication between our gut and our brain deemed pivotal to solving complex health and wellbeing issues.

21 Dec 2017

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