That Anxiety May Be In Your Gut, Not In Your Head

From a 17 May 2011 Medical News Today article

For the first time, researchers at McMaster University have conclusive evidence that bacteria residing in the gut influence brain chemistry and behaviour.

The findings are important because several common types of gastrointestinal disease, including irritable bowel syndrome, are frequently associated withanxiety or depression. In addition there has been speculation that some psychiatric disorders, such as late onset autism, may be associated with an abnormal bacterial content in the gut.

“The exciting results provide stimulus for further investigating a microbial component to the causation of behavioural illnesses,” said Stephen Collins, professor of medicine and associate dean research, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Collins and Premysl Bercik, assistant professor of medicine, undertook the research in the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute.

The research appears in the online edition of the journal Gastroenterology. ….

New Explanations And Treatment Approaches For Gastrointestinal Disorders Offered By Dietary Research

Image via Wikipedia

Excerpts from the 9 May 2011 Medical News Today article

Research being presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) offers further evidence that diet affects gastrointestinal illnesses, such as gallstones and celiac disease, and that some patients who think their digestive problems are caused by lactose intoleranceare actually reacting to a psychological disorder. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery….

….Notes: 

Digestive Disease Week® 2011 (DDW®) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the AGA Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, DDW takes place May 7 – May 10, 2011 in Chicago, IL. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology.

The Digestive Disease Week 2011 Web site includes the following which are free to the public

• Links to YouTube poster presentations (by author, not topic or poster title)
• Social media links (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube)
• Daily News from the meeting

Related Resources

• MedlinePlus – Stomach Disorders with links to overviews, specific conditions, diagnoses/treatments, etc
• New York Online Access to Health – Stomach, Intestine, and Pancreas Disorders with links to the basics, specific disorders, diagnoses/treatments, and information resources

Related articles

• Dietary research offers new explanations and treatments approaches for gastrointestinal disorders (eurekalert.org)
• Gastrointestinal Illness Influenced By Psychological Factors; Colon Cancer Prevented By Minimal Exercise (Medical News Today, May 9, 2011)
• Dietary research offers new explanations and treatments approaches for gastrointestinal disorders (scienceblog.com)
• Strides in identifying and improving screening practices and treatment for liver diseases (eurekalert.org)
• The Use of the Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rating Scale in Digestive Disease Management (brighthub.com)
• Cutting-Edge Research Presented During Digestive Disease Week (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Peppermint relieves irritable bowel disorder (news.bioscholar.com)
• Those Without Celiac Disease Benefit From Gluten-Free Diet, Study Says (fitsugar.com)

People Fall Into Three Categories Of Gut Microbiota : Implications for Nutrient and Medicine Uptake

From the 21 April 2011 Medical News Today article

Every person’s intestinal system falls into one of three clearly distinguishable types of gut microbiota, comparable to blood types. These types are not related to race, native country or diet, according to a new metagenomics study

[Editor Flahiff's note: Links only to abstract
for suggestions on how to get this article for free or at low cost, click here] 

by an international consortium of scientists including Jeroen Raes, of the VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, published in Nature. Metagenomics is the study of the genetic material of complete ecosystems, in this case the human gut.

“The three gut types can explain why the uptake of medicines and nutrients varies from person to person,” says bioinformatician Jeroen Raes of the VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, one of the two lead researchers in the study. “This knowledge could form the basis of personalized therapies. Treatments and doses could be determined on the basis of the gut type of the patient.” Improved knowledge of the gut types could also lead to other medical applications, such as the early diagnosis of intestinal cancer, Crohn’s disease and the adverse effects of obesity..

Related Articles

• Three Main Bacteria Groups Identified, What’s In YOUR Body? (April 21, 2011)
• Gut Type Can Explain Efficiency Of Uptake Of Nutrients And Medicines (April 21, 2011)
• How Gut Bacteria Affects Our Health(April 21, 2011)