tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76148310633668102024-02-24T02:17:06.277-08:00Irritable Bowel BlogAurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-9192748478466630512023-12-10T18:22:00.000-08:002023-12-26T08:41:35.320-08:00Microbots for IBS<p>In
managing IBS and other GI conditions, the greatest challenges often
lie in accessing and visualizing the problem areas within the complex
network of the human body. However, the latest advancements in medical
technology are transforming this landscape, bringing what once seemed
like science fiction into the realm of reality. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfkdZlkoxSsoDGg1c8zphvW9YQYjZPqd4AkFG0qTguBusLb5mTAC7x99BTI8ZtjQxZH8WKBEMM-K2Xd-V4MBUBbOrBYKz5lbx9bLc6LLHJzIOBKC-XHKFtOOadgDKzqLjp5Y2NGMA9VkMnpVwOB9PdGx4XnQwsMzAgIcunsN3ri3sq3Xom4pPVusCI4I/s1024/microbot-intestines.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfkdZlkoxSsoDGg1c8zphvW9YQYjZPqd4AkFG0qTguBusLb5mTAC7x99BTI8ZtjQxZH8WKBEMM-K2Xd-V4MBUBbOrBYKz5lbx9bLc6LLHJzIOBKC-XHKFtOOadgDKzqLjp5Y2NGMA9VkMnpVwOB9PdGx4XnQwsMzAgIcunsN3ri3sq3Xom4pPVusCI4I/s320/microbot-intestines.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The exploration of the GI system has significantly advanced since the 1970s with the advent of technologies like sonde type and ropeway enteroscopy. A landmark development occurred in 2007 with the introduction of the single-balloon enteroscope (SBE) system, revolutionizing the comprehensive inspection of the small bowel. The advent of a motorized enteroscope further streamlined this process, offering the potential for complete enteroscopy in a single session.<p></p><p>In 2010s, "<a href="https://ibs.aurametrix.com/2014/02/digestive-diagnostics-portable-wearable.html">insideable</a>" devices expanded to include an ingestible pill camera - PillCamSB - to monitor pressure, pH and temperature, gastrointestinal motility, lesions, ulcers, early signs of tumors and bleeding within the small bowel. Proteus sensor could be attached to any pill or food item, enabling it to communicate vital health information from within our bodies. Well Cow bovine health monitor designed to be swallowed by cows measured rumen pH and temperature to prevent health issues and ensure the production of high-quality milk.</p><p>The late 20th century witnessed the birth of microbots, a revolutionary product of the microcontroller revolution. These tiny robots, envisioned for medical use in the 1980s, now capitalize on advancements in wireless technology, including Wi-Fi, for improved communication and control. Made from synthetic, biological, or biohybrid materials, microbots are poised to redefine precision in drug delivery and targeted treatments. They could navigate the labyrinth of body's micro-paths, full of barriers that are difficult to break through, break up hard-to-reach clots or deliver drugs to even the most inaccessible tumors.</p><p>Microbots, with their capacity for direct drug delivery in the GI tract, promise to reduce systemic toxicity significantly. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1910837117">Xenobots</a> can assemble themselves and motile living biobots or <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202303575">anthrobots</a> can self-construct. Combining these with cutting-edge technologies like CRISPR 2.0 could herald a new era of precision in gene editing.</p><p>With a high failure rate of drug candidates in clinical trials, microbots offer a beacon of hope. These micromachines can precisely deliver drugs to disease locations, addressing the challenges of systemic delivery methods. This precision opens possibilities for reevaluating drugs previously set aside due to toxicity, and it stimulates new drug development ventures.</p><p>Hydrogel, known for its excellent biocompatibility and adaptable shape, has emerged as a focal point in biomedicine research. Its responsiveness to environmental stimuli (like pH, light, and temperature) has led to the development of "smart" responsive hydrogel micro-nano robots. These are now at the forefront of biomedical applications, including targeted drug delivery, stem cell therapy, and cargo manipulation.</p><p>Innovative uses of hydrogel technologies are continually being explored. For instance, recent advances have seen the development of soft and hard hybrid bionic hydrogel robots, adept at tasks like controllable grasping, tumor cell detection, and continuous drug/cell release. Merging these hydrogel robots with medical contrast agents enables their tracking within the body using nuclear magnetic resonance technology.</p><p>One of the most groundbreaking applications is the use of smart hydrogel structures for microbiome sampling in the GI tract. These hydrogel microbots, easily swallowable and retrievable, are poised to offer unprecedented insights into the GI microbiome, a critical aspect of IBS research and treatment.</p><p><br /></p><p>REFERENCES</p><p>Nehme F, Goyal H, Perisetti A, Tharian B, Sharma N, Tham TC, Chhabra R. The Evolution of Device-Assisted Enteroscopy: From Sonde Enteroscopy to Motorized Spiral Enteroscopy. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Dec 23;8:792668. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.792668. PMID: 35004760; PMCID: PMC8733321.</p><p>Yoon D, Park S, Park S. Smart hydrogel structure for microbiome sampling in gastrointestinal tract. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. 2023 Aug 15;389:133910.</p><p>Cao Q, Chen W, Zhong Y, Ma X, Wang B. Biomedical Applications of Deformable Hydrogel Microrobots. Micromachines (Basel). 2023 Sep 24;14(10):1824. doi: 10.3390/mi14101824. PMID: 37893261; PMCID: PMC10609176.</p><p>Singeap AM, Sfarti C, Minea H, Chiriac S, Cuciureanu T, Nastasa R, Stanciu C, Trifan A. Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy and Enteroscopy: A Shoulder-to-Shoulder Race. J Clin Med. 2023 Nov 26;12(23):7328. doi: 10.3390/jcm12237328. PMID: 38068379.</p><p>Kriegman S, Blackiston D, Levin M, Bongard J. A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Jan 28;117(4):1853-1859. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1910837117. Epub 2020 Jan 13. PMID: 31932426; PMCID: PMC6994979.</p><p>Gumuskaya G, Srivastava P, Cooper BG, Lesser H, Semegran B, Garnier S, Levin M. Motile Living Biobots Self-Construct from Adult Human Somatic Progenitor Seed Cells. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2023 Nov 30:e2303575. doi: 10.1002/advs.202303575. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38032125.</p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-78828794987218285402023-08-10T13:36:00.046-07:002023-08-12T16:19:19.352-07:00The Gut-Brain Connection: A New Horizon in Neurological Health<p>The human body is a complex system, and one of its most fascinating connections is the gut-brain axis. This bidirectional communication between the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the central nervous system (CNS) has recently gained traction in the scientific community, especially concerning acute neurological diseases like stroke, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and migraine.</p><p>The gut-brain axis is not just a physical connection between the gut and the brain; it's a complex network involving proinflammatory cells, gut metabolites, hormones, and neural pathways. Key metabolites include trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are believed to play a central role in gut-brain axis dysfunction. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCv0yDGi-uQsoMfl9ZbbXnuNRrEesVvnaPFFZLse7GhhxRqn5yc0PYz3fx78sf4YbSrClNR2IfGG15OvdqsFha9hjy3XZ0nCR0Gd0y4Kt4Po8ImAT2bEEVwcBQmv9bXAmB6fpKXIDTpCv-sba2Am5Gl6O5dGZcfRDw8aAsQTuZ_yzNm7rTaHT6R7ntF64/s631/gut-brain.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="631" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCv0yDGi-uQsoMfl9ZbbXnuNRrEesVvnaPFFZLse7GhhxRqn5yc0PYz3fx78sf4YbSrClNR2IfGG15OvdqsFha9hjy3XZ0nCR0Gd0y4Kt4Po8ImAT2bEEVwcBQmv9bXAmB6fpKXIDTpCv-sba2Am5Gl6O5dGZcfRDw8aAsQTuZ_yzNm7rTaHT6R7ntF64/s320/gut-brain.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37562458/">Over 50%</a> of ischemic stroke survivors experience GI complications, with dysphagia, constipation, and GI bleeding being the most common. Diarrhea, constipation, and gastroesophageal reflux are also more frequent in patients with <a href="https://thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10194-023-01609-x">migraine</a>. These complications are not merely side effects but may contribute to poor functional neurologic outcomes. It is postulated that the propagation of proinflammatory cells and gut metabolites (including trimethylamine N-oxide and short-chain fatty acids) from the GI tract to the central nervous system play a central role in gut-brain axis dysfunction. In fact, plasma trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) levels <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37553923/">might predict early neurological deterioration</a> (END) in individuals with acute ischemic stroke. </p><p>Stroke itself can lead to gut dysbiosis, alterations in the normal host intestinal microbiome. This dysbiosis may further perpetuate neurological impairments, creating a vicious cycle that challenges recovery.</p><p>Cognition is one of the most evaluated neurologic subjects linked to the gut microbiome. Cognitive impairment is particularly prevalent in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neurological disorder.</p><p>Referenced reviews discuss the known GI complications in acute ischemic stroke and multiple sclerosis, emerging therapeutics and lifestyle modifications that target the gut-brain axis. </p><p><br /></p><p>REFERENCES</p><p>Yong HYF, Ganesh A, Camara-Lemarroy C. Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in Stroke. Semin Neurol. 2023 Aug 10. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-1771470. Epub ahead of print. PMID: <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37562458/">37562458</a>.</p><p>Ghadiri F, Ebadi Z, Asadollahzadeh E, Moghadasi AN. Gut microbiome in multiple sclerosis-related cognitive impairment. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. 2022 Sep 7:104165.</p><p>La Rosa G, Lonardo MS, Cacciapuoti N, Muscariello E, Guida B, Faraonio R, Santillo M, Damiano S. Dietary Polyphenols, Microbiome, and Multiple Sclerosis: From Molecular Anti-Inflammatory and Neuroprotective Mechanisms to Clinical Evidence. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023 Apr 14;24(8):7247.</p><p>He Q, Wang W, Xiong Y, Tao C, Ma L, Ma J, You C. A causal effects of gut microbiota in the development of migraine. The Journal of Headache and Pain. 2023 Dec;24(1):1-7.</p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-55672411605205739852023-02-06T07:35:00.039-08:002023-02-09T14:54:29.299-08:00Stealth Care System for IBS<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #535f65;">The term "stealth care" was coined </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535f65;">in a <a href="https://www.priestsforlife.org/columns/2532-stealth-care">political context</a>, referring to the idea of certain words</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #535f65;"> being disguised or hidden and the fact that not all types of caring for someone's wellbeing are within (or <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/1999/09/06/newscolumn5.html">approved by</a>) traditional health care. </span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #535f65; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq37S8pM2bRbX6mAtGHYtDP1qy7mmeNNCn36qtbvV8bTvFMHXnzWwdOj-NLbgLOUAqXGWehIcVjWn6QaqPHFtaxqkpWVpP1dHMLCiDSPxVz_xPDWL26C6w-eZ89n2yDXP5EoG6vnWG5azs7C3SrWY9Syw0RGvo8U3BO-q-o7P0JVjmEzUvoZXqSCF1/s720/stealthcareAurametrix.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="720" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq37S8pM2bRbX6mAtGHYtDP1qy7mmeNNCn36qtbvV8bTvFMHXnzWwdOj-NLbgLOUAqXGWehIcVjWn6QaqPHFtaxqkpWVpP1dHMLCiDSPxVz_xPDWL26C6w-eZ89n2yDXP5EoG6vnWG5azs7C3SrWY9Syw0RGvo8U3BO-q-o7P0JVjmEzUvoZXqSCF1/s320/stealthcareAurametrix.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #535f65;">This term has been also used in the <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/stealth-care-networks-152471">computer security context</a> - </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535f65;">to describe the Honeynet Project. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535f65;">A honeynet is a network </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535f65;">of </span><span style="color: #535f65;">Honeypots, computer systems set up to look like regular ones, but with a caveat. Honeypots allow themselves to be attacked by hackers in order to capture their every move, learn the tools, tactics and motives; being used to track down and stop attacks before they happen. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #535f65;">A new <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00017">paper</a> from </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535f65;">McMaster University describes a cellular delivery system that can safely carry potent antibiotics throughout the body to selectively attack and kill bacteria. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535f65;">Physicists at McMaster University </span><span style="color: #535f65;">are essentially using red blood cells to conceal this antibiotic within turning them into</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #535f65;"> stealth vehicles. </span><span style="color: #535f65;">The platform could help to address the ongoing antibiotic resistance crisis while avoiding the toxicity and harmful side effects of antibiotics. </span><span style="color: #535f65;">The technology </span><span style="color: #535f65;">could be used to fight particularly dangerous and often drug-resistant bacteria such as E. coli, which is responsible for many serious conditions such as pneumonia, gastroenteritis and bloodstream infections.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #535f65;">It could be also used for conditions such as IBS since traditional </span><span style="color: #535f65;">antibiotics delivery systems can often bring more harm than good in some cases. Antibiotics can disrupt the balance of the microbiome, <a href="https://ibs.aurametrix.com/2023/01/antibiotics-and-bowel-disorders.html">leading to further symptoms of IBS</a> and potentially causing new health problems. Additionally, overuse of antibiotics can lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can make it more difficult to treat future infections effectively.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #535f65;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #535f65; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">REFERENCES</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #535f65; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Krivic H, Himbert S, Sun R, Feigis M, Rheinstädter MC. Erythro-PmBs: A Selective Polymyxin B Delivery System Using Antibody-Conjugated Hybrid Erythrocyte Liposomes. ACS Infectious Diseases. 2022 Sep 29;8(10):2059-72.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #535f65; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Săndulescu O, Viziteu I, Streinu-Cercel A, Miron VD, Preoțescu LL, Chirca N, Albu SE, Craiu M, Streinu-Cercel A. Novel Antimicrobials, Drug Delivery Systems and Antivirulence Targets in the Pipeline—From Bench to Bedside. Applied Sciences. 2022 Nov 16;12(22):11615.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #535f65; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Săndulescu O, Streinu-Cercel A, Moțoi MM, Streinu-Cercel A, Preoțescu LL. Syndromic Testing in Infectious Diseases: From Diagnostic Stewardship to Antimicrobial Stewardship. Antibiotics. 2023 Jan;12(1):6.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #535f65; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Stealth-care system: Scientists test 'smart' red blood cells to deliver antibiotics that </span></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">target specific bacteria (2022, October 31) retrieved 6 February 2023 from </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">https://phys.org/news/2022-10-stealth-care-scientists-smart-red-blood.html</span></p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-20090189377502711852023-01-10T11:15:00.002-08:002023-01-10T11:15:41.684-08:00Antibiotics and Bowel Disorders<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Noto Sans, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span>Frequent use of antibiotics can</span></span><span face=""Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1c1c;"> increase the risk of developing microbiome-associated diseases in all age groups.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face=""Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1c1c1c;">Studies have shown that antibiotic exposure in the prenatal period and during the first 2 years of life can significantly impact the risk of developing <a href="https://academic.oup.com/emph/article/2020/1/279/5937907">atopic and metabolic disorders</a> later in life. </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">The first 6 months of life appeared to be a critical period, as this is when the microbiome is most susceptible to irreversible changes.</span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIVciV7JJUO5RfgCjUMsEma_nwyP8eLb7rJB__QA-XZt0XD2KLGX5_8o6xU5yVMb0wtRZiam19j8VCnwzMc_PjkgqowMiR_QzSmG5w3f00rpzXvG7d38amqdX_dZEK_9i-UYcsCg6bHHuYGueTVG9hwzxecmAg9Gpn02kmoZ9y-NKU8RuiCyjtsm2/s1102/ibd-risk-after10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1019" data-original-width="1102" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIVciV7JJUO5RfgCjUMsEma_nwyP8eLb7rJB__QA-XZt0XD2KLGX5_8o6xU5yVMb0wtRZiam19j8VCnwzMc_PjkgqowMiR_QzSmG5w3f00rpzXvG7d38amqdX_dZEK_9i-UYcsCg6bHHuYGueTVG9hwzxecmAg9Gpn02kmoZ9y-NKU8RuiCyjtsm2/s320/ibd-risk-after10.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">Studies of older children (such as </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;"><a href="https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1110501/v1">11,000 teens and pre-teens from Finland</a>) </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">have found that, instead of a specific age, the frequency of antibiotic use in the two years prior to the diagnosis of autoimmune disorders, was more strongly associated with risk. </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: inherit;">Exposures to cephalosporins, macrolides, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid throughout childhood seemed to increase the likelihood of Juvenile Arthritis (JIA). </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); color: #1c1c1c;">Exposures to macrolides within two years before diagnosis showed minor association with other autoimmune disorders, including </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); color: #1c1c1c;">type 1 diabetes (DM), autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT), JIA, and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)). </span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);"><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">An article <a href="https://gut.bmj.com/content/gutjnl/early/2023/01/03/gutjnl-2022-327845.full.pdf">recently accepted for publication</a> found that frequent use of antibiotics later in life also increased the risk of IBD. This study of more than 6 million individuals followed for close to 20 years analyzed </span></span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">87112328 person-years including </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">36017 new cases of </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">ulcerative colitis (UC) </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">and 16881 new cases of </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">Crohn’s disease (CD) - </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">two primary types of IBD with different characteristics. This risk was predominantly driven by those diagnosed with CD and was strongest within the first few months of antibiotic use. In a nationwide case–control study of individuals <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(20)30267-3/fulltext">16-years or older in Sweden</a>, similar results were seen for three or more antibiotic dispensations.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); color: #1c1c1c;">The authors of the study hypothesized that antibiotics contribute to the development of IBD by modulating the intestinal microbiome, but more research is needed to fully understand the mechanism behind this association.</span></p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;">REFERENCES</p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);">Semeh Bejaoui, Michael Poulsen, The impact of early life antibiotic use on atopic and metabolic disorders: Meta-analyses of recent insights, Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 279–289, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa039</span></span></p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Räisänen L, Kääriäinen S, Sund R, Engberg E, Viljakainen H, Kolho KL. Antibiotic Exposures and the Likelihood of Developing Pediatric Autoimmune Diseases: a Register-based Matched Case-control Study.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"> (2021). DOI: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">10.21203/rs.3.rs-1110501/v1</span></span></p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Faye AS, Allin KH, Iversen AT, et al Antibiotic use as a risk factor for inflammatory bowel disease across the ages: a population-based cohort study Gut Published Online First: 09 January 2023. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2022-327845</span></span></p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-5281222705341285902022-12-24T07:21:00.006-08:002022-12-24T12:44:58.076-08:00Post-COVID Irritable Bowel SyndromeIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder that affects 9-23% of the global population. While the exact cause of IBS is unknown, it is believed to be a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors.
One potential trigger of IBS is infectious illness. Studies have shown that between 3% and 36% of enteric infections can lead to the development of new IBS symptoms, with post-viral IBS being more transient than post-bacterial or post-protozoal IBS. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/2050640618779923">Meta-analysis of published literature</a> found that the incidence of new IBS 12 months after infection was 10.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 7.2–14.1). The incidence appears higher after parasitic or protozoan infections at 49% compared to 13.8% after bacterial gastroenteritis.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRMljKXnyAlg42Q6VkOkgKC1qeKquppClFQy43cLLOHlCtCchcG1mfIxK5zIzVR9bM9NWCtrPk8BoJSv7XafvrBjzkiucwQ3DKKZpZvE0cXL6-Vc5IGR8ncE4t-oYw3E5YvFv1S1rFsbd6PA9iiJH_gPugKEWqLT9QUpysvIv_e7pZ1PHcQ1VsHPu/s1524/postC-IBS.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="1524" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRMljKXnyAlg42Q6VkOkgKC1qeKquppClFQy43cLLOHlCtCchcG1mfIxK5zIzVR9bM9NWCtrPk8BoJSv7XafvrBjzkiucwQ3DKKZpZvE0cXL6-Vc5IGR8ncE4t-oYw3E5YvFv1S1rFsbd6PA9iiJH_gPugKEWqLT9QUpysvIv_e7pZ1PHcQ1VsHPu/s320/postC-IBS.png" width="320" /></a></div>The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the potential link between infections and IBS, as many patients with COVID-19 have developed gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal discomfort. In fact, infection of the GI tract is thought to trigger symptoms in approximately 15% of COVID-19 patients. Post-COVID-vaccination gastrointestinal occurrences were reported in 10–20% of cases and the risk of a disease flare in IBS and IBD patients was <a href="https://formative.jmir.org/2022/11/e41914/">close to 10%.</a> <div><br /></div>Persistent symptoms after SARS-COV-2 infection, known as Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) or long-COVID, may occur in anywhere from 10-55% of those who have had COVID-19, <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.07.22283203v1.supplementary-material">New study</a> found that the most common new diagnoses caused by Long Covid were tachycardia, followed by Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and IBS.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvFyvuhiK9ATpfWr0v6q1X93iwV0lwOu1uW8hkM6FcN_TWcDObW3XiZOQ5gJAWrFIcQY-ZKyMQK7w9vkp5YJO-42qBwsJrBk4ivNlBV8nWuP9NApCv9g62TE5J_n8jLHWA3GV4ctdM25Xb2yXOAu3DA76W0xqhUFSS5Us5wCckblxvzjE7J0FWvFi/s678/FkR2F55X0AUWnMs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="678" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvFyvuhiK9ATpfWr0v6q1X93iwV0lwOu1uW8hkM6FcN_TWcDObW3XiZOQ5gJAWrFIcQY-ZKyMQK7w9vkp5YJO-42qBwsJrBk4ivNlBV8nWuP9NApCv9g62TE5J_n8jLHWA3GV4ctdM25Xb2yXOAu3DA76W0xqhUFSS5Us5wCckblxvzjE7J0FWvFi/s320/FkR2F55X0AUWnMs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div></div><div>This chart shows the 0roportion of individuals diagnosed with various conditions by severity of mobility disability. Red are cardiopulmonary diagnoses (AF - atrial
fibrillation, Blood Clot, Cardiomyopathy, Pericarditis, PE – pulmonary embolism, POTS – postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, Myocarditis,
Tachycardia), light green are gastrointestinal (Irritable Bowel Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome), blue-green are neurologic diagnoses (MS –
multiple sclerosis, ME – myaligic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, PN – peripheral neuropathy, Stroke), and dark green are
metabolic/renal diagnoses (AKD - acute kidney disease, Hyperthyroid, Hypothyroid, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes). A little over 3% of IBS sufferers do not feel disabled, while over 10% are severely disabled. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are several risk factors for the development of PI-IBS, including female gender, previous antibiotic treatment, anxiety, depression, somatization, neuroticism, and clinical indicators of intestinal inflammation. A history of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) may also increase the risk of PI-IBS by up to 25%. Underlying possible mechanisms include ongoing increased permeability, abnormal serotonin metabolism, and ongoing chronic immune activation together with altered microbiota. </div><div><br /></div><div>REFERENCES</div><div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Chan WW, Grover M. The COVID-19 Pandemic and Postinfection Irritable Bowel Syndrome: What Lies Ahead for Gastroenterologists. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2022 Aug 6. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Gabashvili IS. <a href="https://formative.jmir.org/2022/11/e41914/">The Incidence and Effect of Adverse Events Due to COVID-19 Vaccines on Breakthrough Infections</a>: Decentralized Observational Study with Underrepresented Groups. JMIR Formative Research. 2022 Nov 4;6(11):e41914. doi: 10.2196/41914. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36309347/">PMID: 36309347</a>; PMCID: PMC9640199.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Ghoshal UC. Postinfection irritable bowel syndrome. Gut and Liver. 2022 May 5;16(3):331.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Lau B, Wentz E, Ni Z, Yenokyan K, Coggiano C, Mehta SH, Duggal P. Physical and mental health disability associated with long-COVID: Baseline results from a US nationwide cohort. medRxiv. 2022 Dec. 7</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Lau B, Wentz E, Ni Z, Yenokyan K, Coggiano C, Mehta SH, Duggal P. Physical and mental health disability associated with long-COVID: Baseline results from a US nationwide cohort. medRxiv. 2022 Jan 1.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Nazarewska A, Lewandowski K, Kaniewska M, Rosołowski M, Marlicz W, Rydzewska G. <a href="http://pamw.pl/en/node/16323/pdf">Irritable bowel syndrome following COVID-19: underestimated consequence of infection with SARS-CoV-2.</a> Polish archives of internal medicine.:16323.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Spiller R, Garsed K. Postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology. 2009 May 1;136(6):1979-88.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Thabane M, Marshall JK. Post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. World journal of gastroenterology: WJG. 2009 Aug 8;15(29):3591.</span></p><p> </p></div>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-75751710501590368652022-11-30T12:19:00.097-08:002023-01-09T10:21:50.627-08:00The Health Benefits of Mung Beans: Antidiabetic, Anti-inflammatory, and More<p>Mung beans, also known as green gram or moong, are a type of small, green legume that are native to India and have been cultivated for thousands of years. They are a staple food in many Asian cuisines and are commonly used in traditional medicine, particularly in Ayurveda. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pub.mdpi-res.com/nutrients/nutrients-11-01238/article_deploy/html/images/nutrients-11-01238-ag-550.jpg?1571615595" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="550" height="244" src="https://pub.mdpi-res.com/nutrients/nutrients-11-01238/article_deploy/html/images/nutrients-11-01238-ag-550.jpg?1571615595" width="550" /></a></div><p></p><p>Mung beans are a good source of nutrients, including protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They are low in calories and fat, making them a healthy choice for people who are trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Mung beans are also much easier to digest than other legumes such as lentils and hard beans, which include pintos, black beans, and chickpeas. It is worth noting that mung beans are considered to be low FODMAP, meaning that they are generally well tolerated by people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other digestive disorders. </p><p>One of the key health benefits of mung beans is their ability to cleanse and detoxify the body. Mung beans contain both soluble and insoluble fibers, which help to cleanse the colon and remove toxins from the body. The pasty texture of mung beans is often cited as an indicator of their cleansing properties. </p><p>Mung beans have also been shown to have cholesterol-lowering and liver-protective effects, due to the presence of antioxidant compounds such as phenolic compounds. These legumes have been documented to ameliorate hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, and hypertension, and prevent cancer and melanogenesis, as well as possess hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory activities.</p><p>According to the findings of one recent study, the methanolic extract of the seeds from the V. radiata (Mung Bean) plant possesses significant antidiabetic characteristics that are on par with those of the commonly used drug glibenclamide. Hence, V. radiata seems to be effective as a natural antidiabetic.</p><p>Mung beans may be helpful for people with digestive disorders. In one study, mung beans were found to improve symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea in people with IBS. Mung bean supplementation was shown to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464619306115?via%3Dihub">prevent the High-Fat-Diet-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis.</a> Mung Bean Seed Extracts (MSE) regulated the composition of gut microbiota by stimulating the growth of the beneficial bacteria Enterococcus, Ruminococcus, Blautia, and Bacteroides and decreasing the growth of the potential pathogenic bacteria Escherichia-Shigella. Similarly, qPCR showed increased numbers of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Prevotella, compared with people on a regular diet (control group). The anti-inflammatory activity of MSE was observed in LPS-stimulated THP-1 monocytes with the reduction of TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 genes. mung bean seed coat extract</p><p>Finally, mung beans have been traditionally used to improve the overall health of the skin. Some people believe that consuming mung beans can help to purify the blood and reduce unpleasant body odor. It is also believed to help with chloasma - irregular brownish or blackish spots especially on the face.</p><p><br /></p><p>References: </p><p>Lopes LA, Martins MD, Farias LM, Brito AK, Lima GD, Carvalho VB, Pereira CF, Conde Júnior AM, Saldanha T, Arêas JA, Silva KJ. Cholesterol-lowering and liver-protective effects of cooked and germinated mung beans (Vigna radiata L.). Nutrients. 2018 Jun 26;10(7):821.
</p><p>Amare YE, Dires K, Asfaw T. Antidiabetic Activity of Mung Bean or Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek Seeds in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Mice. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2022 Oct 26;2022.<br /></p><p>Charoensiddhi S, Chanput WP, Sae-Tan S. Gut Microbiota Modulation, Anti-Diabetic and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Polyphenol Extract from Mung Bean Seed Coat (Vigna radiata L.). Nutrients. 2022 Jan;14(11):2275.</p><p></p><p>
Hou D, Tang J, Huan M, Liu F, Zhou S, Shen Q. Alteration of fecal microbiome and metabolome by mung bean coat improves diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice. Food Science and Human Wellness. 2022 Sep 1;11(5):1259-72.</p><p>
Hou D, Yousaf L, Xue Y, Hu J, Wu J, Hu X, Feng N, Shen Q. Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.): bioactive polyphenols, polysaccharides, peptides, and health benefits. Nutrients. 2019 May 31;11(6):1238.
</p><p>
Kabré WJ, Dah-Nouvlessounon D, Hama F, Kohonou NA, Sina H, Senou M, Baba-Moussa L, Savadogo A. Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Colon Cancer Activities of Mung Bean Grown in Burkina Faso. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2022 Aug 9;2022.
</p><p>
d’Arc KW, Durand DN, Hama-Ba F, Abiola A, Felix G, Haziz S, Arnaud KN, Pascal T, Maximin S, Aly S, Lamine BM. Mung Bean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek) from Burkina Faso Used as Antidiabetic, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Agent. Plants. 2022 Jan;11(24):3556.</p><p>** Bharadwaj, P., & Kaur, H. (2013). Mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek): A review on its nutritional and functional aspects. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 50(6), 985-995. </p><p>** Park, H. K., Kim, J. H., Lee, J. H., & Lee, Y. J. (2016). Cholesterol-lowering and liver-protective effects of mung bean sprouts and their related compounds. Food Science and Biotechnology, 25(1), 125-132. </p><p>Lopes LA, Martins MD, Farias LM, Brito AK, Lima GD, Carvalho VB, Pereira CF, Conde Júnior AM, Saldanha T, Arêas JA, Silva KJ. Cholesterol-lowering and liver-protective effects of cooked and germinated mung beans (Vigna radiata L.). Nutrients. 2018 Jun 26;10(7):821.</p><p>** de Souza, D. S., & Nascimento, M. G. (2016). Mung beans (Vigna radiata L.) as a functional food: A review. Journal of Functional Foods, 22, 294-303.</p><p>Zhang N, Xu P, Wei X, Fan X, Li H. Traditional Chinese Medicine Diet Health and Dermatology. MEDS Public Health and Preventive Medicine. 2022 Feb 16;2(1):11-7.</p><p><br /></p><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f7f7f8; color: #374151; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">IG: Special thanks to </span><a href="https://openai.com/" style="color: #2288bb; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">OpenAI</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f7f7f8; color: #374151; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">'s Assistant for their help with writing this article and suggesting the title. Note that the three double-starred references do not exist. They were generated by AI to look credible. All other references were selected from selected biomedical literature by the human author.</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-65355299244752288602022-04-30T17:50:00.004-07:002022-04-30T17:58:56.581-07:00Precision medicine for IBD<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Precision medicine, also known as personalized medicine, is a key clinical goal for the effective treatment of heterogeneous, complex diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), cancer, autoimmune diseases and COVID-19. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529;">Recent paper </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529;">published in the journal</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529;"> </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529;">Nature Communications</i><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529;"> </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529;">describes </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529;">a precision medicine approach - the integrated SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) Network Pipeline (iSNP). </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The iSNP tool will help to identify subtype of IBD for every patient based on their specific genetics. It could help to describe the individual pathogenesis story and find the best treatment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #212529;">Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) develop the condition due to distinct and different mechanisms, determined by their genetics. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529;">The causes of IBD aren't understood but are linked to dysfunction of the immune system and how it reacts to food and the gut microbiome, including <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/viruses-gut-influence-inflammatory-bowel-disease">virome</a>. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">For IBD, less than 10% of the identified SNPs are in coding regions of genes and over 90% of SNPs are in areas once thought to just be junk DNA, controlling and regulating the activity of the genes. The immune system functions by taking a wide range of different inputs that trigger different signaling networks within the cell, integrating these to produce a balanced, appropriate response, so a combination of even subtlest SNPs could disequilibrate the system. Understanding how they combine to influence intricately interlinked signals would fill in major gaps enabling personalized treatment. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #212529;">The iSNP workflow</span><span style="color: #222222;"> identifies patient clusters with distinct pathomechanisms. </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.springernature.com/lw685/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41467-022-29998-8/MediaObjects/41467_2022_29998_Fig2_HTML.png?as=webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="685" height="314" src="https://media.springernature.com/lw685/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41467-022-29998-8/MediaObjects/41467_2022_29998_Fig2_HTML.png?as=webp" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">Patient data is layered with population-wide genomics and transcriptomics using. To achieve this, hidden proteins contributing to pathogenesis and key pathogenic pathways are identified and aligned with</span><span style="color: #222222;"> pathological processes in disease development. </span></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">High-quality individual patient genetic information was used along with preprocessed and quality-controlled immunochip data</span><span style="color: #222222;">. </span><span style="color: #222222;">miRNA-TS identification algorithm MIRANDA</span><span style="color: #222222;"> was</span><span style="color: #222222;"> included in the pipeline along with other genetic analysis tools. </span><span style="color: #212529;">A computer simulation of interactions, pathways and networks used databases of known and predicted interactions between proteins in the network.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;">There was not enough granularity in the clinical data to link all pathways with phenotypes and remove confounders such as recurrent corticosteroid therapy. </span><span style="color: #222222;">Further work will need to be done on larger cohorts and with multi-omics datasets to confirm the potential for iSNP to be used for precision therapy based on patient-specific genetics.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; margin-top: 0px;">REFERENCE</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: 15px;">Johanne Brooks-Warburton et al, A systems genomics approach to uncover patient-specific pathogenic pathways and proteins in ulcerative colitis, </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 15px;">Nature Communications</i><span style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: 15px;"> (2022). </span><a data-doi="1" href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29998-8" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0049b0; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29998-8</a></p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-50372766251510147102022-03-21T11:34:00.003-07:002022-03-21T11:35:35.826-07:00Passive sensors for health monitoring<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Ubiquitous sensing with the use of
passive sensors is on the rise - transforming work, healthcare, leisure and everyday life. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">We would love to collect data relevant to our health without extra effort on our part. Carriable and wearable sensors require some effort - for example, they have to be periodically charged. <span style="background-color: white; color: #080e14;">They should be small, light and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #080e14;">forgettable to be more convenient</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #080e14;">, but this increases the chance that you can forget or even lose them.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Ten years ago, <a href="https://ibs.aurametrix.com/2014/02/digestive-diagnostics-portable-wearable.html">wearables were predicted to evolve into insideables</a>. The road was longer than expected. The rise and fall of Proteus Digital Health teaches us about the dangers of complexity and excessive costs in remote health. Besides inconveniencing the patients - that had to wear a patch to collect the signals from ingested pills - their technology also required commitment from insurers and doctors and changing the healthcare system's model of funding drugs. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">But the ingestible sensors keep evolving. One of the latest proposals is a dissolvable biodegradable sensor that <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9699577">monitors gut bacteria</a>. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.electronicsforu.com/wp-contents/uploads/2018/03/journey-ingestible-edible-sensor-498x500.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://www.electronicsforu.com/wp-contents/uploads/2018/03/journey-ingestible-edible-sensor-498x500.jpg" width="318" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Diagnosing and screening for digestive conditions is challenging and time-consuming. And so is monitoring and managing it. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Assessment</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: inherit;"> still heavily relies on self-report mechanisms and great opportunities exist for novel, transformational tools - but they should be sufficiently </span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: inherit;">accurate, frequently updated and integrated with rapidly evolving knowledge, detailed, ethical, easy and fun to use (and maintain/calibrate), defending user privacy and developers' intellectual property while </span><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">providing monetization opportunities</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: inherit;">. </span></span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: inherit;">Some sensors are more successful than others. Pfizer was able to monitor patients’ eczema-related scratching at night by providing them a wearable motion tracker. But there is a luck of fun tools for monitoring digestive disorders. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;">The compliance to IBD-Home, for example, was <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00365521.2020.1854342?src=recsys">very low</a> (29%). Still, home monitoring was determined to be feasible and a</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: medium;"> fully digital Virtual IBD clinic is picking up steam. </span></p><p><br /></p><p>REFERENCES</p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">I<span style="font-family: inherit;">nami A, Kan T, Onoe H. Ingestible Wireless Capsule Sensor Made from Edible Materials for Gut Bacteria Monitoring. In2022 IEEE 35th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Conference (MEMS) 2022 Jan 9 (pp. 110-113). IEEE.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Das SK, Miki AJ, Blanchard CM, Sazonov E, Gilhooly CH, Dey S, Wolk CB, Khoo CS, Hill JO, Shook RP. Perspective: opportunities and challenges of technology tools in dietary and activity assessment: bridging stakeholder viewpoints. Advances in Nutrition. 2022 Jan;13(1):1-5.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Puolanne AM, Kolho KL, Alfthan H, Färkkilä M. Is home monitoring of inflammatory bowel disease feasible? A randomized controlled study. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. 2019 Jul 3;54(7):849-54.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Taylor NS. </span><i style="background-color: white;">Utilising new technologies and supported self-management to enhance the inflammatory bowel disease patient pathway: pilot, feasibility and development studies</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> (Doctoral dissertation, University of Southampton).</span></span></p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-70917960549747114772022-01-02T17:14:00.004-08:002022-01-03T10:29:35.572-08:00Lipid dysregulationCompared to control subjects, patients with IBS show significantly higher lipid levels in their blood. Elevated levels of certain lipids, such as arachidonic acid, in plasma may even serve as putative biological markers in this condition. Lipids have been shown to sensitize mechanoreceptor response and increase perception of gut distention. Some of probiotics beneficial to irritable bowel - such as Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium - are related to the lipid metabolism displaying lipid-lowering effects.<div><br /></div><div>Dysregulation of lipid metabolism has been a hallmark of many other diseases and conditions including cancer and COVID-19.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.springernature.com/lw685/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1186%2Fs12944-021-01563-0/MediaObjects/12944_2021_1563_Fig1_HTML.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="685" height="186" src="https://media.springernature.com/lw685/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1186%2Fs12944-021-01563-0/MediaObjects/12944_2021_1563_Fig1_HTML.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Lipids play a crucial role throughout the viral life cycle, and viruses are known to exploit lipid pathways to affect host metabolism. Numerous observational studies have shown potential beneficial effects of lipid-lowering treatment on the course of COVID-19 with significant improved prognosis and reduced mortality. On the other hand, bioactive lipids have been proposed as potential drugs helping to combat COVID-19. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here is what we know.</div><div><br /></div><div>Glycerolipids and glycerophospholipids are markers of severe COVID-19, increased in ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). Lipid storm can be self-destructive enhancing peptide-mediated cytokine storms. Dysregulation of lipid metabolism may be a defining feature of the severity of COVID-19. </div><div><br /></div><div>Shorter chain lipids were found at increased levels after successful COVID vaccination.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sphingolipids, especially Sphingomyelin (SM) that associates with cholesterol to form lipid rafts that promote Coronavirus entry on the cellular surface (help viral S-protein to bind the cellular receptor ACE2) are decreased in asymptomatic patients. Other ether lipids [including PC O-35:4 (i), LPC O-18:1 (i) and LPE O-18:2], sphingomyelin (SM34:1; O2), and fatty acids (including FA 18:1 and FA 20:0) are also decreased in asymptomatic COVID.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lysophospholipids including lysophosphatidylserine (LPS) 18:1, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) 18:1 and LPA 18:0, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) 22:1, and lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) 18:1 are generally decreased in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients.
- Diacylglycerol (DG) 30:0 (14:0_16:0), DG 36:5 (18:2_18:3), phosphatidylcholine (PC) 36:5 (18:2_18:3), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) 36:2 (18:0_18:2) are increased. These lipids seem to have a protective effect in COVID-19.<br /><p>Bioactive lipids - phospholipids including Plasmalogens and PAFs, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), dihomo-GLA (DGLA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) help cells of the innate immune system - macrophages - with phagocytosis. Targeting membrane sphingolipids and interfering with the virus lipid metabolism could represent a promising path to follow towards the development of COVID-19 treatments. </p><p><br /></p><p>REFERENCES</p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Lee SH, Kim KN, Kim KM, Joo NS. Irritable bowel syndrome may be associated with elevated alanine aminotransferase and metabolic syndrome. Yonsei medical journal. 2016 Jan 1;57(1):146-52.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Serra J, Salvioli B, Azpiroz F, Malagelada JR. Lipid-induced intestinal gas retention in irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology. 2002 Sep 1;123(3):700-6.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Schwarz B, Sharma L, Roberts L, Peng X, Bermejo S, Leighton I, Casanovas-Massana A, Minasyan M, Farhadian S, Ko AI, Cruz CS. Cutting edge: Severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans is defined by a shift in the serum lipidome, resulting in dysregulation of eicosanoid immune mediators. The Journal of Immunology. 2021 Jan 15;206(2):329-34.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Hao Y, Zhang Z, Feng G, Chen M, Wan Q, Lin J, Wu L, Nie W, Chen S. <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)00942-1">Distinct lipid metabolic dysregulation in asymptomatic COVID-19</a>. Iscience. 2021 Sep 24;24(9):102974.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Surma S, Banach M, Lewek J. COVID-19 and lipids. The role of lipid disorders and statin use in the prognosis of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Lipids in Health and Disease. 2021 Dec;20(1):1-4.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Casari I, Manfredi M, Metharom P, Falasca M. Dissecting lipid metabolism alterations in SARS-CoV-2. Progress in Lipid Research. 2021 Feb 8:101092.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Demopoulos CA. Is Platelet-Activating Factor (PAF) a missing link for elucidating the mechanism of action of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and explaining the side effects-complications of Covid-19 disease?.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Deng Y, Angelova A. Coronavirus-Induced Host Cubic Membranes and Lipid-Related Antiviral Therapies: A Focus on Bioactive Plasmalogens. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. 2021 Mar 12;9:551.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Martín-Fernández M, Aller R, Heredia-Rodríguez M, Gómez-Sánchez E, Martínez-Paz P, Gonzalo-Benito H, Sánchez-de Prada L, Gorgojo Ó, Carnicero-Frutos I, Tamayo E, Tamayo-Velasco Á. Lipid peroxidation as a hallmark of severity in COVID-19 patients. Redox biology. 2021 Dec 1;48:102181.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Das UN. Bioactive lipids-based therapeutic approach to COVID-19 and other similar infections. Archives of Medical Science. 2021.</span></span></p><p></p></div>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-70592941801802496602021-12-15T16:33:00.005-08:002021-12-15T17:26:23.120-08:00Microbiome in Complex Disease<p><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;">An imbalance between microorganisms in human microbiome is responsible for many complex diseases. The relationship is complex. In a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34884466/">new review article</a> published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, researchers analyzed over 24,000 scientific papers on gut microbiome in metabolic (n=6109 papers), immune (n=7434), autoimmune (n=1927), cardiovascular (n=2605), brain diseases (n=4216) and various cancers (n=5564). Most papers were written about the role of microbiome in obesity (n=5342), while the smallest subset was about heart failure (n=261). </span></p><p><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;">Complex diseases occur due to interaction of genetic and environmental factors. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8657718/bin/ijms-22-12661-g002.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="728" height="504" src="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8657718/bin/ijms-22-12661-g002.jpg" width="728" /></a></span></div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;"><br />Gut microbes and their metabolites play important roles as environmental factors. The metabolites - such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the end products of fermentation of dietary fibers by the anaerobic microbes in the gut, can protect us from pathogen invasion by activating immune defense. Lactobacillus rhamnose, for example, strengthens the ability of the T cell response. Lactobacillus sakei reduces the level of serum IgE and IL4. Acinetobacter iwoffii improves respiratory hyperresponsiveness by blocking the recruitment of dendritic cells in the lungs. Lactobacillus casei ATCC334 can produce iron pigment, which plays a role in inhibiting tumor progression.
Some microorganisms may be also used in the treatment of hypertension, cardiovascular and other diseases. </span><p></p><p><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;">Bacterial biofilms (bacterial colonies self-organized in complex structures), on the other hand, can interrupt human immune system in many harmful ways. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;">Bacteroides fragilis biofilms are implicated in destruction of mucosal epithelium, thus promoting migration of harmful species and helping them escape body's defense mechanisms. </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;">Small metabolites such as </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;">trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) produced by some gut bacteria </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;">could induce cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. </span></p><p><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 18px;">Some proteases secreted by microbes are contributing to developing diseases, such as arterial sclerosis, skin disease, enteritis and cardiovascular disease and others. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">M. globosa (a common skin color fungi), on the other hand, secretes proteinase MgSAP1 that rapidly hydrolyses Staphylococcus protein A (SpA) and prevents S. aureus biofilm formation, helping to maintain a healthy skin. Bacteria can also secrete amino acid-derived antibiotics to fight diseases - e.g., Clostridium scindens and C. sordellii that help to inhibit the growth of C. difficile. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">The new review discusses these and many other mechanisms in complex disease as well as potential cures and dietary interventions.</span></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p>REFERENCES</p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Yu D, Meng X, de Vos WM, Wu H, Fang X, Maiti AK. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/23/12661">Implications of Gut Microbiota in Complex Human Diseases</a>. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021, 22(23):12661.</span></p><p></p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-11099224333345506502021-12-10T16:52:00.006-08:002021-12-10T16:52:55.628-08:00Gamified Eating<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">Unhealthy diet is one the most important lifestyle risk factors for metabolic and physiologic changes predisposing to disease. IBS, for example, can be caused by irregular eating, physical inactivity, and quality of sleep, even though IBS subjects usually eat more healthy foods (such as vegetables and legumes) than others. Gamification approaches to nutrition education offer advantages for preventing disease over traditional persuasion methods. Gamification might provide not only positive emotional feelings, but it also increases sense of immersion, facilitating learning. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Gamification_Taxonomy.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="793" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Gamification_Taxonomy.png" width="317" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">Yet, about half of existing apps don't improve health and wellbeing because they are not developed in a skilled way. </div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">What makes a diet best? What is the best diet for you? Every year US News calls health experts to <a href="https://health.usnews.com/best-diet">rank popular diets</a> and every year there are changes in ranking. 10 years ago, the DASH diet beat out <a href="http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/atkins-diet" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;">Atkins</a>, <a href="http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/jenny-craig-diet" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;">Jenny Craig</a>, <a href="http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/slim-fast-diet" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;">Slim-Fast</a> and 15 others to win the crown. It was praised as the best for combating high blood pressure. This year it's number 2, after Mediterranean diet scoring high on weight loss, heart and brain health, diabetes and cancer prevention. For dropping those extra pounds, 10 years ago Weight Watchers ranked No. 1, followed closely by Jenny Craig and the Raw Food Diet. This year i's the <a href="https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/flexitarian-diet">Flexitarean Diet</a>. The database has 39 diets, a small fraction of existing "eating plans" built around various personalities and lifestyles. The EAT-Lancet diet is one of those not included - it tries to balance nutrition with environmental concerns. The FODMAP diet - best for IBS - is not ranked either. </div><div id="xxl-a" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="ad" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/3b1f/0/0/%2a/x;44306;0-0;0;64990392;32414-468/648;0/0/0;;~okv=;kw=bestdiets;kw=homepage;kw=hiatt;kw=kurtis;kw=dietandnutrition;sz=468x648;tile=2;pos=xxlA;~aopt=2/0/65/0;~sscs=%3f" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;" target="_top"><img alt="Click here to find out more!" border="0" src="http://s0.2mdn.net/viewad/817-grey.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block;" /></a></div></div><a href="" id="read_more" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;"></a><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 1.3em;">US News & World Report puts hard numbers on the common-sense belief that no diet is ideal for everybody. But finding out which diet is best for you could be a cumbersome task. Many apps exist but they are not sufficiently engaging or sufficiently good for your health. </span></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">Health gamification research is progressing at a fast pace. Researchers are finding which elements the users of nutrition apps
prefer. Food gamers like clear measurable goals, performance graphs, and progress bars, but seem to lack motivating elements found in non-nutrition apps - since digital "rewards", "levels" and "leaderboards" are not sufficiently appealing. And neither is counting calories, gameplay narratives and individual competition. </div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">Gamified nutrition apps show promise. Who'll design the perfect food game?</div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">REFERENCES</div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Johnson D, Deterding S, Kuhn KA, Staneva A, Stoyanov S, Hides L. Gamification for health and wellbeing: A systematic review of the literature. Internet interventions. 2016 Nov 1;6:89-106.</span></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Gabashvili IS. Why Red Beans and Rice Are Good ... But Not with Coffee, Forbes 2012, April 30. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/04/30/why-red-beans-and-rice-aregood-but-not-with-coffee DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.13600517</span></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Berger, M. and Jung, C., 2021, January. Gamification in Nutrition Apps–Users’ Gamification Element Preferences: A Best-Worst-Scaling Approach. In </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Proceedings of the 54th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"> (p. 1335).</span></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Guo YB, Zhuang KM, Kuang L, Zhan Q, Wang XF, Liu SD. Association between diet and lifestyle habits and irritable bowel syndrome: a case-control study. Gut and liver. 2015 Sep;9(5):649.</span></span></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Van Asbroeck S, Matthys C. Use of Different Food Image Recognition Platforms in Dietary Assessment: Comparison Study. JMIR formative research. 2020 Dec 7;4(12):e15602.</span></span></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Karkar R, Schroeder J, Epstein DA, Pina LR, Scofield J, Fogarty J, Kientz JA, Munson SA, Vilardaga R, Zia J. Tummytrials: a feasibility study of using self-experimentation to detect individualized food triggers. InProceedings of the 2017 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems 2017 May 2 (pp. 6850-6863).</span></span></div></div>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-6040860394927112002021-10-30T14:00:00.023-07:002021-11-05T10:51:42.269-07:00Precision antibiotics<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">Antibiotics can effectively eliminate infection-causing bacteria, but they also </span><span style="color: #333333;">perturb</span><span style="color: #333333;"> microbial communities in the body and this perturbation can be irreversible, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">depending on the individual</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">. A new study </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">demonstrates that the pre-treatment baseline gut microbiota is a major determinant of whether there will be complete or partial recovery, </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.aurametrix.com/images/Studies/Microbiome-Antibiotics.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img alt="antibiotics microbiome perturbations" border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="800" height="326" src="https://www.aurametrix.com/images/Studies/Microbiome-Antibiotics.png" title="antibiotics & microbiome" width="400" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">or whether antibiotics will s</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">hift microbiome to completely new states with little resemblance to the baseline community. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial;">This is consistent with the role of pre-treatment microbiota in determining response to fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial;">and dietary interventions.</span></span><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;">New research </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">suggests a strong predictive role for baseline microbiota, especially when antibiotic exposure is less intense. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">Typically, after antibiotic-induced perturbations, composition of the gut microbiome changes from the baseline (phase 1) followed by post-antibiotic reorganization (phase 2) (</span></span><a data-track-action="figure anchor" data-track-label="link" data-track="click" href="https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-021-01170-2#Fig1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #004b83; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625rem; text-underline-offset: 0.08em; word-break: break-word;">original figure</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">) - that will either bring the microbiome back to its initial state, change it slightly or change it dramatically creating a completely new microbiome. The latter is usually called</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> a “regime shift”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">. A resistant community always resists perturbation, while a resilient community is able to completely recover and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">stabilize into a fully functional state after antibiotic treatment. </span></span><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Principal component mixed effect regression using microbiota and granular antibiotic exposure data showed that microbiota departures from baseline depend on the composition of the pre-treatment microbiota. Penalized generalized estimating equations identified 6 taxa within pre-treatment microbiota that predicted the extent of antibiotic-induced perturbations.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">In the final model, 5 baseline taxa (</span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333;">Roseburia</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333;">Blautia</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333;">Eggerthella</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, a Lachnospiraceae genus, and a Clostridiales genus) predicted larger microbiota departures from baseline, and one taxon (</span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333;">Bacteroides</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">) predicted larger resistance to perturbations. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Specific </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Roseburia</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"> species degrade dietary fiber β-mannan, producing short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate, with numerous and profound homeostatic effects. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Similarly, certain </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Eggerthella</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"> species have significant metabolic potential, contributing, for example, to the conversion of dietary fiber-derived lignans to bioactive compounds </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Antimicrobial peptides produced by certain </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Blautia</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"> species have been shown to confer colonization resistance against antibiotic-resistant pathogens </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Bacteroides</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"> might be exhibiting stabilizing effect via quorum sensing or </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">by secreting antimicrobial compounds such as </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">propionate. </span></span><span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf" face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #70757a; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #5f6368;">Bacteroides</span> fragilis has a protective effect on f</span><span style="text-align: left;">unctional gastrointestinal disorders that are thought of as disorders of homeostatic imbalance</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Next-generation precision antibiotics should be specific towards particular pathogens and their genes. They also should be tailored to the baseline host microbiome to prevent the development of functional gastrointestinal disorders. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">REFERENCES</span></span></p><p class="c-bibliographic-information__citation" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rashidi, A., Ebadi, M., Rehman, T.U. <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">et al.</i> <a href="https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-021-01170-2#citeas">Gut microbiota response to antibiotics is personalized and depends on baseline microbiota.</a> <i style="box-sizing: inherit;">Microbiome</i> <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder;">9, </span>211 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-021-01170-2</span></p></div>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-63039115753264260572021-05-16T18:57:00.008-07:002022-03-02T18:18:34.182-08:00Autoimmune diseases and COVID-19 vaccines<p>Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system
attacks the healthy body tissue within digestive track, joints, vasculature
and other organ systems. This causes inflammation, pain,
diminished mobility, fatigue, and other non-specific
symptoms. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://letstalkscience.ca/sites/default/files/styles/width_800px/public/2020-03/autoimmune_diseases.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="556" height="200" src="https://letstalkscience.ca/sites/default/files/styles/width_800px/public/2020-03/autoimmune_diseases.png" width="139" /></a></div><p></p>
Nearly 4% of the world’s population and 5-8% of U.S. is affected by an autoimmune diseases, the most common of which include type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, and psoriasis. <div><br /></div><div>There is no evidence that any vaccines cause flares of autoimmune diseases, used to say doctors. However, there is limited data available since individuals with autoimmune diseases were excluded from phase I–III vaccine trials. And it is known that immunizations could cause flare ups (see, eg, this <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dth.14684">study of 2020/2021 flu vaccines</a>). Preliminary data from smaller studies and case reports after emergency-use-authorization for SARS-CoV-2 suggest there is a possibility.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8009616/">A case</a> of a white 55-year-old male who has been in sustained remission from rheumatoid arthritis for more than 2 years describes him developing an acute flare of his rheumatoid arthritis 12 h after the second BNT162b2 vaccination (similarly to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7832430/">flares observed after COVID-19 infection</a>). The patient was treated with intra-articular steroids with rapid improvement, and he is once again in clinical remission.</div><div><br /></div><div>23-year-old woman who <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21645515.2021.1920274">developed acute reactive arthritis</a> on her left knee joint after COVID-19 vaccination with Sinovac CoronaVac was back on her feet in 2 days, after she was administered a single intra-articular injection of 1 ml compound betamethasone.</div><div><br /></div><div>A 20-year-old man with a history of multiple sclerosis experienced <a href="https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-1220786/v1/2e25a033-e621-4415-8f5b-4722511e64fb.pdf">acute myocarditis</a> after the third dose of SARS-COV-2 vaccine (AstraZeneca vaccine). He had received the first and second dose of the SARS-COV-2 vaccine (Sinopharm
vaccine) 5 and 4 months before.
</div><div><br /></div><div>More recently published, 27 case reports from Israel, US and UK described <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/5/435">17 flares and 10 new onset</a> immune-mediated diseases. 23/27 received the BNT - 162b2 vaccine, 2/27 the mRNA-1273 and 2/27 the ChAdOx1 vaccines. The mean age was 54.4 ± 19.2 years and 55% of cases were female.</div><div><br /></div><div>A <a href="https://ard.bmj.com/content/early/2021/05/11/annrheumdis-2021-220272">study</a> that compared 26 people with autoimmune disorders aged 24 to 89 (Rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sarcoidosis, Lupus, etc; none had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 prior to vaccination) with 42 healthy controls. Patients with autoimmune diseases had a marginal propensity towards more vaccine side effects compared with healthy controls: mild <b>fatigue</b> and <b>myalgia</b> were more frequent (53.8% vs 43.2% and 42.3% vs 31.6%) and so was <b>headache</b> (38.5% vs 35.1%). <u>Fever</u>, on the other hand, was completely absent in patients with inflammatory diseases while being reported by 13.5% of the healthy cohort. Arthralgia was comparable in both groups. </div><div><br /></div><div>Researchers from two different rheumatology departments in Israel monitored <a href="https://sharylattkisson.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/shingles-study.pdf">491 patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases</a> (AIRD) and compared their reactions to 99 healthy controls. Shortly after receiving the vaccine, 1.2% of those with AIIRD (six patients total, age range: 36 to 61) developed their first case of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/advance-article/doi/10.1093/rheumatology/keab345/6225015">shingles</a> compared to none of the controls.
Four of the six affected individuals had stable rheumatoid arthritis, one had Sjögren’s syndrome and another one had undifferentiated connective disease. Notably, one patient developed Herpes zoster despite being vaccinated for it two years prior to the reported event.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", stixgeneral, serif; font-size: 15.9991px;">Multiple cases of apparent secondary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), </span>an unusual immune reaction triggered <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", stixgeneral, serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> after SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination have been reported and reached public attention. </span></div><div>One case was actually a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajh.26128?af=R">flareup for a patient</a> with a past medical history of autoimmune bleeding disorder Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). This patient received the first dose of SARS‐CoV‐2 mRNA‐1273 Moderna Covid‐19 vaccine 2 weeks prior to presentation.
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8014568/">Three other individuals</a> that experienced <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", stixgeneral, serif; font-size: 15.9991px;">thrombocytopenia </span>had known autoimmune conditions including hypothyroidism, Crohn's disease, or tested positive for anti‐thyroglobulin antibodies.
Given that a small percentage of patients with lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome have been previously shown to display serum
antibodies against PF-4 in association with thrombotic events constant vigilance is warranted.</div><p>
</p><div>Preliminary results of the <a href="https://www.aurametrix.com/nct04832932.html">COVID-19 Back to Normal study</a> show that some individuals with autoimmune diseases do experience flareups and higher frequency of adverse reactions such as enlarged lymph nodes. A smaller percentage of people claim they actually observed <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Autoimmune/comments/ncd5so/is_there_any_studies_or_research_into_the_covid/">improvement in their autoimmune conditions</a> after vaccinations You can help by submitting your observations about effects of vaccinations: <a href="https://forms.gle/5xs4XzFUFkhpa2TA9">https://forms.gle/5xs4XzFUFkhpa2TA9</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>REFERENCES</div><div><br /></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Buttari F, Bruno A, Dolcetti E, Azzolini F, Bellantonio P, Centonze D, Fantozzi R. COVID-19 vaccines in multiple sclerosis treated with cladribine or ocrelizumab. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. 2021 May 4:102983.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Geisen UM, Berner DK, Tran F, Sümbül M, Vullriede L, Ciripoi M, Reid HM, Schaffarzyk A, Longardt AC, Franzenburg J, Hoff P. Immunogenicity and safety of anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in patients with chronic inflammatory conditions and immunosuppressive therapy in a monocentric cohort. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2021 Mar 24.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Furer V, Zisman D, Kibari A, Rimar D, Paran Y, Elkayam O. Herpes zoster following BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccination in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a case series. Rheumatology (Oxford, England). 2021 Apr 12.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Lee EJ, Cines DB, Gernsheimer T, Kessler C, Michel M, Tarantino MD, Semple JW, Arnold DM, Godeau B, Lambert MP, Bussel JB. Thrombocytopenia following Pfizer and Moderna SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination. American Journal of Hematology. 2021 Feb 19.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Moutsopoulos HM. A recommended paradigm for vaccination of rheumatic disease patients with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Journal of Autoimmunity. 2021 May 1:102649.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Terracina KA, Tan FK. Flare of rheumatoid arthritis after COVID-19 vaccination. The Lancet. Rheumatology. 2021 Mar 30. </span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Toom S, Wolf B, Avula A, Peeke S, Becker K. Familial thrombocytopenia flare‐up following the first dose of mRNA‐1273 Covid‐19 vaccine. American Journal of Hematology. 2021 Feb 13.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Qi-jun An, De-an Qin & Jin-xian Pei (2021) Reactive arthritis after COVID-19 vaccination, Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2021.1920274</span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">Watad A, De Marco G, Mahajna H, Druyan A, Eltity M, Hijazi N, Haddad A, Elias M, Zisman D, Naffaa ME, Brodavka M. Immune-Mediated Disease Flares or New-Onset Disease in 27 Subjects Following mRNA/DNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination. Vaccines. 2021 May;9(5):435.</span></div><div><br /></div><p></p><p></p>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-76401276047085824062021-01-20T18:02:00.006-08:002021-01-20T18:17:24.136-08:00Irritable Bowel and COVID-19The first symptoms of Coronavirus disease (day 0) begin from two to 14 days after exposure to the virus (marked as day –5 in the figure below, since median time is about five days). The disease affects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://els-jbs-prod-cdn.jbs.elsevierhealth.com/cms/attachment/e91350fc-e950-4a62-9412-27e6bb01c483/gr1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="565" height="286" src="https://els-jbs-prod-cdn.jbs.elsevierhealth.com/cms/attachment/e91350fc-e950-4a62-9412-27e6bb01c483/gr1.jpg" width="549" /></a></div>different people in different ways. A recent article identified 6 distinct types of COVID-19 with different symptoms, some of which are hallmarks of the most severe forms of the disease. SARS-CoV-2-infected patients usually first experience a fever. The fever is often followed by a dry cough or fatigue and muscle pain, followed by GI tract symptoms, if they ever occur. Some people, experience nausea or have diarrhea in the days just before the fever begins. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35GZ8CJZN5LuTtefIO2apF5F7tANQaJhBoagO0UGQT5Z1tEpoCfygftakHs2-vTiih_eSE2YSoRlklC-p2azNySFDpmCZGYlqsec2Ty0Z_-LOlHxR4f3F3b-ReFV3miucbTDjV-qOVHM/s365/COVID-symptoms-paths.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35GZ8CJZN5LuTtefIO2apF5F7tANQaJhBoagO0UGQT5Z1tEpoCfygftakHs2-vTiih_eSE2YSoRlklC-p2azNySFDpmCZGYlqsec2Ty0Z_-LOlHxR4f3F3b-ReFV3miucbTDjV-qOVHM/s320/COVID-symptoms-paths.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Gastrointestinal symptoms are reported in about one third of COVID-19 cases, the most common is loss of appetite - it can happen even in the mildest form of the disease. Nausea/vomiting and diarrhea are slightly less common. Abdominal pain is even less widely known in COVID-19, yet it is - along with shortness of breath and confusion - is a potential sign of the most severe form of COVID-19. In children, having gastrointestinal symptoms was more frequently associated with severe and critical phenotype (<a href="https://journals.lww.com/pidj/fulltext/2020/10000/gastrointestinal_symptoms_in_severe_covid_19.25.aspx">Giacomet et al, 2020</a>). Hyperinflammatory syndrome was presenting with both cardiac and significant GI symptoms (diarrhea, vomit, abdominal pain).<div><br /></div><div>Some researchers suggest that gut dysfunction may exacerbate the severity of infection by enabling the virus to access the surface of the digestive tract and internal organs. These organs are vulnerable to infection because they have widespread ACE2—a protein target of SARS-CoV-2 for its possible routes of entry —on the surface. ACE2 is abundantly present in the epithelia of the lung and small intestine.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/588711/fmed-07-588711-HTML/image_m/fmed-07-588711-g001.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="800" height="176" src="https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/588711/fmed-07-588711-HTML/image_m/fmed-07-588711-g001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Yet, even if SARS-CoV-2 reaches the GI tract, it may not cause GI problems. An inflamed leaky gut, however, may be associated with a higher risk of severe illness and the microbial imbalance of the gut affecting gut barrier integrity can allow pathogens and pathobionts easier access to cells in the intestinal lining.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Several studies have already demonstrated that, when compared with healthy individuals, COVID-19 patients present a significantly reduced bacterial diversity and higher abundancy of opportunistic Streptococcus, Rothia, Veilonella, and Actinomyces compared to depleted levels of beneficial Agathobacter, Fusicatenibacter, Roseburia, and Ruminococcaceae UCG-013. Rothia was preeviously thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of pneumonia. Critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation who were given probiotics experienced decrease in viral colonization when compared with placebo. However, the efficacy of probiotics use in COVID-19 patients and other bowel remedies remains to be proved.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>
REFERENES<div><br /><div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">La Marca A, Capuzzo M, Paglia T, Roli L, Trenti T, Nelson SM. Testing for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): a systematic review and clinical guide to molecular and serological in-vitro diagnostic assays. Reproductive biomedicine online. 2020 Jun 14.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Oshima T, Siah KT, Yoshimoto T, Miura K, Tomita T, Fukui H, Miwa H. Impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome: A population‐based survey. Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology. 2020 Nov 16.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Sudre CH, Lee KA, Lochlainn MN, Varsavsky T, Murray B, Graham MS, Menni C, Modat M, Bowyer RC, Nguyen LH, Drew DA. Symptom clusters in Covid19: A potential clinical prediction tool from the COVID Symptom study app. MedRxiv. 2020 Jan 1.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Riphagen S, Gomez X, Gonzalez-Martinez C, et al. Hyperinflammatory shock in children during COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet. 2020;395:1607–1608.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Giacomet V, Barcellini L, Stracuzzi M, Longoni E, Folgori L, Leone A, Zuccotti GV. Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Severe COVID-19 Children. The Pediatric infectious disease journal. 2020 Aug 10;39(10):e317-20.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Cholankeril G, Podboy A, Aivaliotis VI, Tarlow B, Pham EA, Spencer SP, Kim D, Hsing A, Ahmed A. High Prevalence of Concurrent Gastrointestinal Manifestations in Patients With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2: Early Experience From California. Gastroenterology. 2020 Aug 1;159(2):775-7.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Gu, S.; Chen, Y.; Wu, Z.; Chen, Y.; Gao, H.; Lv, L.; Guo, F.; Zhang, X.; Luo, R.; Huang, C.; et al. Alterations of the Gut Microbiota in Patients with COVID-19 or H1N1 Influenza. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2020, 71, 2669–2678.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Dhar, D.; Mohanty, A. Gut microbiota and Covid-19- possible link and implications. Virus Res. 2020, 285, 198018. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Sudre CH, Lee KA, Lochlainn MN, Varsavsky T, Murray B, Graham MS, Menni C, Modat M, Bowyer RC, Nguyen LH, Drew DA. Symptom clusters in Covid19: A potential clinical prediction tool from the COVID Symptom study app. MedRxiv. 2020, June 16. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Kim HS. <a href="https://mbio.asm.org/content/mbio/12/1/e03022-20.full.pdf">Do an Altered Gut Microbiota and an Associated Leaky Gut Affect COVID-19 Severity?.</a> mBio. 2021 Feb 23;12(1).</span></span></div></div></div></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Ferreira, C.; Viana, S.D.; Reis, F. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/1/53/htm">Is Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis a Predictor of Increased Susceptibility to Poor Outcome of COVID-19 Patients?</a> An Update. Microorganisms 2021, 9, 53.</span></span></div>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-20079383683756162132020-09-30T13:43:00.001-07:002020-10-12T15:05:16.853-07:00Microbiome-based strategies for IBS<p> <span face="Muli, sans-serif" style="color: #1f1f1f;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", stixgeneral, serif; font-size: 15.9991px;">There is evidence that the microbiome is implicated in the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or associated with it in one way or another. Many patients can trace their symptom onset back to infectious gastroenteritis or multiple courses of antibiotics. Microbiome-based strategies (eg, probiotics, diet, antibiotics) offer benefits to subsets of patients and so does t</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", stixgeneral, serif; font-size: 15.9991px;">he use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).</span></p><div><span face="Muli, sans-serif" style="color: #1f1f1f;"><span style="background-color: white;">Development of microbiome-directed medicine is stalled by the laborious nature of conventional cultivation methods and insufficient data for </span></span><span face="Muli, sans-serif" style="color: #1f1f1f;">machine learning-driven approaches. <a href="https://aurametrix.com/blog/mmedicine.html">Read more ...</a></span></div>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-70335551083781914402016-11-18T07:02:00.000-08:002016-11-18T07:05:47.767-08:00Who is afraid of IBS?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Irritable bowel syndrome, also known as IBS, used to be a rare condition, but - due to industrialization and urbanization - it is now one of the most common disorders in the world. The term is even used figuratively, in a derogatory sense.</span><br />
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The numbers of new reported cases of irritable bowel syndrome kept increasing into the 21st century when they reached almost epidemic proportions. As the amount of information available on the Internet exploded, so did the web searches about IBS. But then the disorder "came out of the closet", and google searches for "irritable bowel syndrome" started to dwindle, reaching a quarter of what they used to be at the peak. This downtrend mirrored ambulatory data (National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey) showing that by 2010, the rate of IBS-related visits decreased roughly by 37%.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Is IBS no longer a problem?</span><br />
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Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-4335539619128787002015-05-10T16:01:00.003-07:002022-03-20T14:07:27.598-07:00Making Digestion Health Easier to Digest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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From balloons inserted into stomach or colon to the dreaded colonoscopy, digestive diagnostic procedures are not fun. Tracking diet and symptoms, too, is tedious and frustrating - unless, <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2013.00034/abstract" target="_blank">like a mouse</a>, you can be isolated in a chamber linked to analyzers that automatically measure everything for you.<br />
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New noninvasive tests are emerging, but adoption is slow. Medicare and most insurance plans won’t pay for a less invasive version of the conventional colonoscopy - CT colonography - as its lacks the sensitivity and specificity of the traditional test.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyH6EQcIMLNIqbWTjyAERJmBUbVL04o_6hCUBOlSpP9vapfBXmxWvOvQ3HUFdsY_u2M1UBGmNzCWw6j2FEBtLjFJUM5RuB5v5nu-pEXMq-3OHzRQdQbr74nMLVaClafZrAY09VGyZCFuc/s1600/Pillcam.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyH6EQcIMLNIqbWTjyAERJmBUbVL04o_6hCUBOlSpP9vapfBXmxWvOvQ3HUFdsY_u2M1UBGmNzCWw6j2FEBtLjFJUM5RuB5v5nu-pEXMq-3OHzRQdQbr74nMLVaClafZrAY09VGyZCFuc/s200/Pillcam.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Pill cameras for the
detection of colorectal polyps and cancer are, too, still inferior to those of
standard colonoscopy. Besides, even though these tests are much faster and less invasive than conventional techniques, patients still need a cleansing preparation of their bowel prior to the test. In addition, the pill camera that usually exits the body after 10 hours, has to be surgically removed in 8% of the patients. And virtual colonoscopy leads to more “incidentalomas" and unnecessary treatments. A few novel endoscopic innovations also have uncertain clinical relevance.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0WZULv1RMQKvIr08XEVmhMc0SiicG_z2g3PQzjub47fbEw4eqAvVnUYbJZwNMCVSpFRTHNrpyon3s9rHMao9TPc4sYZ5lVPPezEIC8Lh40ZzpZVAAnJNABHkdbl5i4nGL0puUau5ftUA/s1600/CH4-tracker.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0WZULv1RMQKvIr08XEVmhMc0SiicG_z2g3PQzjub47fbEw4eqAvVnUYbJZwNMCVSpFRTHNrpyon3s9rHMao9TPc4sYZ5lVPPezEIC8Lh40ZzpZVAAnJNABHkdbl5i4nGL0puUau5ftUA/s200/CH4-tracker.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
A simple wearable tracker of intestinal gas recently proposed by a Brazilian designer and telecommunications major <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/963861855/keep-track-of-your-gases-with-ch4" target="_blank">does not seem to attract much interest</a> in consumers. Perhaps it is because it offers too little information? After all, even the cow health tracker - <a href="http://ibs.aurametrix.com/2014/02/digestive-diagnostics-portable-wearable.html" target="_blank">Well Cow pill</a> - measures not only the gas-forming potential of foods, but also pH and temperature within the digestive system to better monitor the healthiness of diet.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5B2UqweItn2XlyCqqJvtOJZJd4JYwnHOsAIFTbmJhdqLBfdPZY6p_Ddn7jYFg9HxaNIz_wYlMYcIYdozFTzDMI29AzzD1zL2iscPGQlkc9suzqHdBNhBqEM_fvTUlWnenqw7QrcQixFw/s1600/ingestible-gas-sensor.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5B2UqweItn2XlyCqqJvtOJZJd4JYwnHOsAIFTbmJhdqLBfdPZY6p_Ddn7jYFg9HxaNIz_wYlMYcIYdozFTzDMI29AzzD1zL2iscPGQlkc9suzqHdBNhBqEM_fvTUlWnenqw7QrcQixFw/s200/ingestible-gas-sensor.png" width="154" /></a><br />
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Accurate measurement of intestinal gases could offer new insights into lives of human gut microbes and metabolic activities. Two novel techniques, in vitro fermentation and swallowable gas capsule systems, for measuring and assessing selected gas species, were recently <a href="http://www.cell.com/trends/biotechnology/abstract/S0167-7799(15)00025-6?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0167779915000256%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank">proposed</a> and could potentially be used for less invasive diagnostics of irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer, and other gastrointestinal conditions. But could not we do better than popping gas sensor "pills" for easy every-day measurements of digestive health?<br />
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We at Aurametrix think so. Stay tuned for more. </div>
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REFERENCES<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Endoscopy&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F20556714&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Pill+camera.&rft.issn=0013-726X&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=42+Suppl+2&rft.issue=&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=von+Delius+S&rft.au=Schmid+RM&rft.au=Meining+A&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CHealth%2CPublic+Health%2C++Gastroenterology"><br /></span>
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Endoscopy&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F20556714&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Pill+camera.&rft.issn=0013-726X&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=42+Suppl+2&rft.issue=&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=von+Delius+S&rft.au=Schmid+RM&rft.au=Meining+A&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CHealth%2CPublic+Health%2C++Gastroenterology">Ou JZ, Yao CK, Rotbart A, Muir JG, Gibson PR, & Kalantar-Zadeh K (2015). Human intestinal gas measurement systems: in vitro fermentation and gas capsules. <span style="font-style: italic;">Trends in biotechnology, 33</span> (4), 208-213 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25772639" rev="review">25772639</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Frontiers+in+Physiology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.3389%2Ffphys.2013.00034&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Measuring+Energy+Metabolism+in+the+Mouse+%E2%80%93+Theoretical%2C+Practical%2C+and+Analytical+Considerations&rft.issn=1664-042X&rft.date=2013&rft.volume=4&rft.issue=&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fjournal.frontiersin.org%2Farticle%2F10.3389%2Ffphys.2013.00034%2Fabstract&rft.au=Speakman%2C+J.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CNutrition%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism">Speakman, J. (2013). Measuring Energy Metabolism in the Mouse – Theoretical, Practical, and Analytical Considerations <span style="font-style: italic;">Frontiers in Physiology, 4</span> DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00034" rev="review">10.3389/fphys.2013.00034</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Endoscopy&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F20556714&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Pill+camera.&rft.issn=0013-726X&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=42+Suppl+2&rft.issue=&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=von+Delius+S&rft.au=Schmid+RM&rft.au=Meining+A&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CHealth%2CPublic+Health%2C++Gastroenterology">von Delius S, Schmid RM, & Meining A (2010). Pill camera. <span style="font-style: italic;">Endoscopy, 42 Suppl 2</span> PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20556714" rev="review">20556714</a></span></div>
Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-13763891113741165152014-11-10T13:43:00.001-08:002014-11-11T07:56:12.854-08:00Intestinal Parasites: Friends, Foes and Shades of Gray<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6Hyp5ByC6gsiQoVXmS-7e9Oopz_EoJogMx6sriHeJgzUKETnIhYEEVPiXyF0aRsXvumlneZwzUa-A3HSpacEw9XJT20YAZy6Ln031kxpnX1Xg8JCtHjvOUWQ-gL9uu0Is6wNMBCnO18/s1600/B_IBS_vs_control_journal.pone.0111868.g001.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6Hyp5ByC6gsiQoVXmS-7e9Oopz_EoJogMx6sriHeJgzUKETnIhYEEVPiXyF0aRsXvumlneZwzUa-A3HSpacEw9XJT20YAZy6Ln031kxpnX1Xg8JCtHjvOUWQ-gL9uu0Is6wNMBCnO18/s1600/B_IBS_vs_control_journal.pone.0111868.g001.png" height="204" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLayQLeMGXE83G2TTyYMOF4sVlyju-ABegLxUCNSfQNzlrwV6KTZB_eXHskIligAEj2p26pdK12OWrhGIvuY7W1YpWcJyo3sw8XsEDdfcj60FMRaNq9V8ZwjCumpiZohyphenhyphen1pFBpHTiqFE/s1600/blastotrend.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLayQLeMGXE83G2TTyYMOF4sVlyju-ABegLxUCNSfQNzlrwV6KTZB_eXHskIligAEj2p26pdK12OWrhGIvuY7W1YpWcJyo3sw8XsEDdfcj60FMRaNq9V8ZwjCumpiZohyphenhyphen1pFBpHTiqFE/s1600/blastotrend.png" height="107" width="200" /></a>Parasite is a bad word with negative connotations. Yet, "bad things" can be good for you - and every situation is different. <br />
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About one third of people in the world carry at least one parasite in their gastrointestinal tract (the numbers reported vary from 2-4% in Japanese residing in developing countries to 6% in patients of a specialized private hospital in Saudi Arabia, 7% among individuals with mental retardation in New York, 17% in HIV patients with low CD4 counts in France, 30% in households of USA, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, 40% in Pakistan and Brasil, to over 50% in Nigeria, 50-70% in Morocco and almost 100% in Senegal). Prevalence varies between countries and within communities. Women and children appear to harbor larger numbers of parasites. But men, in general, may be less healthy than women, so the relationship between health and intestinal parasites is not as straightforward as one might think.<br />
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Let's take a look at three studies published this year.<br />
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Paper by Lukeš and co-authors (2014) suggests that intestinal parasites such as Blastocystis (single celled protozoa closely related to algae and molds) and nematodes (e.g., tapeworms or hookworms) can be actually beneficial to human health. To prove the point, Julius Lukeš even ingested a handful of tapeworms called Diphyllobothrium latum. After more than a year with the tapeworms, which might have grown to be as long as four meters each by now, he still feels healthy and convinced that we should rethink our views of organisms that live off our bodies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0_KG_j5Ga5WeTmkcjzlMeKaSQbXOJVb_oeXrtd4sncnqPWL5pUf0kv_Yr6lat1bo3eAX4uHtxjWJxmg2Oa9AYRbtYiAMOpFaZp01SPAk_npU4LTi2i748Y0LW7kKRgVLt-Q5vLYK2Pc/s1600/IntParasites_inHealthy_andIBS_cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0_KG_j5Ga5WeTmkcjzlMeKaSQbXOJVb_oeXrtd4sncnqPWL5pUf0kv_Yr6lat1bo3eAX4uHtxjWJxmg2Oa9AYRbtYiAMOpFaZp01SPAk_npU4LTi2i748Y0LW7kKRgVLt-Q5vLYK2Pc/s1600/IntParasites_inHealthy_andIBS_cropped.png" height="120" width="320" /></a>According to a Danish study (Krogsgaard et al, 2014), Blastocystis could be rare in individuals with low microbial diversity, disturbed by antibiotic treatment, inflammation, infection and diet, while common in the healthy population. Healthy individuals are more likely to carry intestinal parasites (50% vs 36%) than those with IBS and IBD. Protozoa <i>Blastocystis </i>and <i>Dientamoeba </i>were the most common parasites found. D fragilis was detected in a greater proportion of fecal samples from controls than cases (35% vs 23%; P = .03), and so was Blastocystis (22% of controls vs 15% of cases; P = .09), and combinations of parasite species (16% of controls vs 8% of cases; P = .05). D fragilis infection was more likely among those with low frequency of defecation and those having children 5 to 18 years old in the household. Blastocystis was associated with high income, increasing age, no animals in the household and drinking bottled water. These results are drawn from analyzing hundreds of individuals - 124 cases/204 controls.<br />
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Smaller and more focused studies, however, do find association between Blastocystis and IBS. <br />
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A recent French study compared the prevalence of <i>Blastocystis</i> among 56 IBS patients and 56 control and found that <i>Blastocystis</i> species are likely to couse IBS symptoms in men (prevalence was 37% in IBS sufferers vs 5% in healthy men; difference in women was not statistically significant). One of the older smaller studies that indicated possible relation between <i>Blastocytes</i> and IBS (Funda Dogruman-Al et al., 2009) suggested that <i>Blastocystis</i> don't really attack the body, it's the human organism that attacks the microbes first and the outcome is the result of defensive actions by the microbes. Obviously, symptoms do depend on many other health factors. Nourrisson and co-authors identified them as the prevalence of certain "good" bacteria. Men are more likely to get constipated when their <i>Blastocystis</i> leads to a significant
decrease in
<i>Bifidobacterium</i>
species. On the other hand, they are doing just fine if
<i>Blastocystis</i>
causes decrease in
<i>Faecalibacterium prausnitzii</i> - relatively good bacteria known for its anti-inflammatory properties,<br />
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Another interesting insight into the impact of a complex interplay of environmental factors on our health. Still a long way to go to understand how we interact with microbes that call us home.<br />
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REFERENCES<br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=PloS+one&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F25365580&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Blastocystis+Is+Associated+with+Decrease+of+Fecal+Microbiota+Protective+Bacteria%3A+Comparative+Analysis+between+Patients+with+Irritable+Bowel+Syndrome+and+Control+Subjects.&rft.issn=&rft.date=2014&rft.volume=9&rft.issue=11&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Nourrisson+C&rft.au=Scanzi+J&rft.au=Pereira+B&rft.au=NkoudMongo+C&rft.au=Wawrzyniak+I&rft.au=Cian+A&rft.au=Viscogliosi+E&rft.au=Livrelli+V&rft.au=Delbac+F&rft.au=Dapoigny+M&rft.au=Poirier+P&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CPublic+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology%2C+Protistology">Lukeš J, Kuchta R, Scholz T, & Pomajbíková K (2014). (Self-) infections with parasites: re-interpretations for the present. <span style="font-style: italic;">Trends in parasitology, 30</span> (8), 377-85 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25033775" rev="review">25033775</a></span><br />
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Krogsgaard LR, Engsbro AL, Stensvold CR, Nielsen HV, & Bytzer P (2014). The Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites Is Not Greater Among Individuals With Irritable Bowel Syndrome: a Population-Based Case-Control Study. <span style="font-style: italic;">Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association</span> PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25229421" rev="review">25229421</a><br />
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Nourrisson C, Scanzi J, Pereira B, NkoudMongo C, Wawrzyniak I, Cian A, Viscogliosi E, Livrelli V, Delbac F, Dapoigny M, & Poirier P (2014). Blastocystis Is Associated with Decrease of Fecal Microbiota Protective Bacteria: Comparative Analysis between Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Control Subjects. <span style="font-style: italic;">PloS one, 9</span> (11) PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25365580" rev="review">25365580</a><br />
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El Safadi D, Gaayeb L, Meloni D, Cian A, Poirier P, et al. (2014) Children of Senegal River Basin show the highest prevalence of Blastocystis sp. ever observed worldwide. BMC Infect Dis 14: 164 doi:10.1186/1471-2334-14-164.
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Boorom KF, Smith H, Nimri L, Viscogliosi E, Spanakos G, Parkar U, Li LH, Zhou XN, Ok UZ, Leelayoova S, Jones MS: (2008) Oh my aching gut: irritable bowel syndrome, Blastocystis, and asymptomatic infection.
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LR, Engsbro AL, & Bytzer P (2013). The epidemiology of irritable
bowel syndrome in Denmark. A population-based survey in adults ≤50 years
of age. <span style="font-style: italic;">Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 48</span> (5), 523-9 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23506174" rev="review">23506174</a></span><br />
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(2004) Intestinal parasites prevalence and related factors in school children, a western city sample--Turkey. BMC Public Health. 2004 Dec 22;4:64. <br />
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Houmsou R.S., Amuta E.U., Olusi T.A. (2010)
Prevalence of intestinal parasites among primary school children in Makurdi, Benue State- Nigeria.
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 21.9987621307373px;">Schupf N, Ortiz M, Kapell D, Kiely M, Rudelli RD. Prevalence of intestinal parasite infections among individuals with mental retardation in New York State. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 21.9987621307373px;"><span class="ref-journal" style="font-style: italic;">Ment Retard. </span>1995 Apr;<span class="ref-vol">33</span>(2):84–8</span><br />
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Sah, Ram; Bhattarai, Sailesh; Yadav, Satish; Baral, Ratna; Nilambar; Pokharel, Paras (2013) A study of prevalence of intestinal parasites and associated risk factors among the school children of Itahari, Eastern Region of Nepal. Tropical Parasitology, 3, 2, 140-144, DOI 10.4103/2229-5070.122143<br />
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Prevalence of opportunistic intestinal parasitic infections among HIV-infected patients with low CD4 cells counts in France in the combination antiretroviral therapy era.
Pavie J1, Menotti J, Porcher R, Donay JL, Gallien S, Sarfati C, Derouin F, Molina JM.
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Javed Yakoob, Wasim Jafri, Nadim Jafri, Rustam Khan, Muhammad Islam, M. Asim Beg, and Viqar Zaman (2004)<a href="file:///C:/Users/Irene/Downloads/02e7e5265a0b2851de000000.pdf" target="_blank"> Irritable bowel syndrome: in search of an etiology: role of Blastocystis hominis</a> Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 70(4), pp. 383–385
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Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-46537889399782415462014-02-03T20:20:00.001-08:002022-03-20T12:46:26.613-07:00Digestive Diagnostics: Portable, Wearable, Insideable<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Next sensors will be in you, said a recent popular article. And some of them will monitor your digestive system.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYPe3ch6OKhPubzmILz5wV0GrV6Hd_VUg-qa2O76HmagRsEggKuxHq-MXCUtjDyCJKzdNZU4RAgDK8qEPxvpS1dZ5MjmRE23cA-lRyCyxBJt2CavgyvHO9qUHut_773gyQjR8u4pTma8/s1600/hapi=fork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYPe3ch6OKhPubzmILz5wV0GrV6Hd_VUg-qa2O76HmagRsEggKuxHq-MXCUtjDyCJKzdNZU4RAgDK8qEPxvpS1dZ5MjmRE23cA-lRyCyxBJt2CavgyvHO9qUHut_773gyQjR8u4pTma8/s1600/hapi=fork.jpg" height="171" width="200" /></a></div>
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Accurate monitoring of digestion is hard. There are apps and high tech gadgets for that - like a <a href="https://www.blogger.com/Search%20%20Articles%20Gallery%20The%20Well%20Cow%20Bolus%20Purchasing%20Details%20Customer%20Area%20Customer%20Login%20Key%20Partners%20Bioparametrics%20TTP%20Group%20i4%20Product%20Design%20Well%20Cow%20Limited%20Roslin%20BioCentre%20Roslin%20Midlothian%20EH25%209PP%20Tel:%200131%20200%206380%20Fax:%200131%20200%206401%20Click%20here%20for%20map%20Search%20(Showing%201%20-%201%20of%201)" target="_blank">fork that monitors eating speed</a> or a <a href="http://www.icountbites.com/index.html" target="_blank">watch that counts bites</a>, but neither of them can provide a continuous and objective measures of what exactly is eaten and how it affects the digestive system.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KRGgyCEjEiTp52V85jzPv36uWBW1ZSMX1M-39mqp_ZDAIICwf9uKfw-h9M61xSLWCJNDLg6yxwSuw12APii47I5MVxkWwVmRnT3xVB9aBzV_93XbpoclAKN4pH2DLvXhYB8Dv25AVZQ/s1600/Well-Cow-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KRGgyCEjEiTp52V85jzPv36uWBW1ZSMX1M-39mqp_ZDAIICwf9uKfw-h9M61xSLWCJNDLg6yxwSuw12APii47I5MVxkWwVmRnT3xVB9aBzV_93XbpoclAKN4pH2DLvXhYB8Dv25AVZQ/s1600/Well-Cow-2.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a>Thanks to wonders of modern technology, cows now have a device that can monitor the effects of food on their digestive system. <a href="http://wellcow.co.uk/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #663399; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Well Cow">Well Cow </a>bovine health monitor, an inch thick capsule almost as long as human hand, can be swallowed by a cow and measure the rumen pH and temperature within the digestive system every 15 minutes. It then transmits the data to a Bluetooth collar around the cow’s neck. This data can help to monitor the healthiness of cow's food intake, to predict its gas-forming potential in the short term, make sure it will lead to a high quality milk or prevent the development of health issues such as acidosis or infertility in the long term. The device can last between 80 to 100 days inside the cows.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb0neXvJq5NSNv4lxOPppaxLEY5yjaSf_1KtOyMj6AkasjIzrOrSUBwa42ZS6JyL4xLx2JgvaPCiPw-1Ti44cA93fEGRisW_1B1y5EFRiRjyfiaGldrVzJjC-4qWJDXqbeJytnsUu8m8/s1600/pill-cam-colon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb0neXvJq5NSNv4lxOPppaxLEY5yjaSf_1KtOyMj6AkasjIzrOrSUBwa42ZS6JyL4xLx2JgvaPCiPw-1Ti44cA93fEGRisW_1B1y5EFRiRjyfiaGldrVzJjC-4qWJDXqbeJytnsUu8m8/s1600/pill-cam-colon.jpg" height="74" width="200" /></a>A smaller vitamin-sized device (1mm x 26mm with weight less than 4 grams) was recently approved for use in humans. This ingestible pill camera - <a href="http://www.givenimaging.com/en-us/Innovative-Solutions/Capsule-Endoscopy/Pillcam-SB/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">PillCamSB</a> - can monitor pressure, pH and temperature, gastrointestinal motility, lesions, ulcers, early signs of tumors and bleeding within the small bowel. FDA approved it for patients who have experienced an incomplete colonoscopy, as its lower-resolution-imaging can't completely replace the procedure.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmjZ0ZOMlhyphenhyphen5F8BCMjdT6rJHy8aQXqGPeCm5ewzFIrdLItr43NaO2x72f4C1yagszPQfoq5W68-xKo4e31_uo3mNCJnv401RR52Bf7Oyej5kdbwMKSYjA8H-bDntkP_rZtbj0ifTzJlo/s1600/insideables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmjZ0ZOMlhyphenhyphen5F8BCMjdT6rJHy8aQXqGPeCm5ewzFIrdLItr43NaO2x72f4C1yagszPQfoq5W68-xKo4e31_uo3mNCJnv401RR52Bf7Oyej5kdbwMKSYjA8H-bDntkP_rZtbj0ifTzJlo/s1600/insideables.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a>Food we eat and drugs we take can communicate from our insides too - <a href="http://www.proteus.com/proteus-digital-health-announces-fda-clearance-of-ingestible-sensor/" target="_blank">Ingestible Event Maker</a> sensor - size of a grain of sand - can be attached to any pill or a food item.<br />
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Perhaps in the future we could rely on "insideables" to monitor our diet and automatically generate recommendations on what to eat and what to avoid? <br />
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According to a song, The Future's So Bright Gotta Wear Shades.</div>
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REFERENCES
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Bioelectromagnetics&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1002%2Fbem.21813&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Implantable+and+ingestible+medical+devices+with+wireless+telemetry+functionalities%3A+A+review+of+current+status+and+challenges.+&rft.issn=&rft.date=2014&rft.volume=35&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=1&rft.epage=15&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Kiourti%2C+Asimina.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CComputer+Science+%2F+Engineering%2CHealth%2CPublic+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Electrical+Engineering">Kiourti, Asimina. (2014). Implantable and ingestible medical devices with wireless telemetry functionalities: A review of current status and challenges. <span style="font-style: italic;">Bioelectromagnetics, 35</span> (1), 1-15 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bem.21813" rev="review">10.1002/bem.21813</a></span>
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Engineering+in+Medicine+and+Biology+Society%2C+2009.+EMBC+2009.+Annual+International+Conference+of+the+IEEE+&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1109%2FIEMBS.2009.5332812&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Near-field+wireless+magnetic+link+for+an+ingestible+cattle+health+monitoring+pill&rft.issn=&rft.date=2009&rft.volume=&rft.issue=&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Hoskins%2C+S.%3B+Sobering%2C+T.%3B+Andresen%2C+D.%3B+Warren%2C+S.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology">Hoskins, S.; Sobering, T.; Andresen, D.; Warren, S. (2009). Near-field wireless magnetic link for an ingestible cattle health monitoring pill <span style="font-style: italic;">Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2009. EMBC 2009. Annual International Conference of the IEEE </span> DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5332812" rev="review">10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5332812</a></span><br />
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Wong WM, Bautista J, Dekel R, et al. Feasibility and tolerability of transnasal / per-oral placement of the wireless pH capsule vs. traditional 24-h oesophageal pH monitoring – a randomized trial. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2005; 21(2): 155-163.<br />
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Hirono I, Richter JE. Practice Parameters Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology. ACG practice guidelines: esophageal reflux testing. Am J Gastroenterol. 2007; 102(3): 668-685.<br />
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Teunissen LP, de Haan A, de Koning JJ, Daanen HA. Telemetry pill versus rectal and esophageal temperature during extreme rates of exercise-induced core temperature change. Physiol Meas. 2012 Jun;33(6):915-24. doi: 10.1088/0967-3334/33/6/915. Epub 2012 May 3.<br />
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Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-22473266983933947752013-10-29T11:15:00.000-07:002013-11-13T10:27:11.288-08:00IBS: pity, compassion and discrimination<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">The effects of IBS </span><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">on quality of life may be more substantial </span><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">than those of many other chronic diseases. It affects school, work and life, putting the sufferers at risk for social isolation. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaTExAfPdH71o05YQhHUgzdaxJu_0gR8CewieW4q2et1HNRmXIDV1jnc0Dbc4YZKH1K4_OZObENtZJRlKHpCkVUhHDzgtxOOgLXwOaS-0ii4-5dYizYoFKLJnX3AfVqbC3aowALh-yHoc/s1600/discrimination.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaTExAfPdH71o05YQhHUgzdaxJu_0gR8CewieW4q2et1HNRmXIDV1jnc0Dbc4YZKH1K4_OZObENtZJRlKHpCkVUhHDzgtxOOgLXwOaS-0ii4-5dYizYoFKLJnX3AfVqbC3aowALh-yHoc/s200/discrimination.jpg" width="140" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMO7-3lUOyLFVC7Ij_oO8Csx6HdbwGTpyKoyUPicXID14fWf16kVws4iC-a5Mhy3DTGQru2JUn28EZkx17-Hf27fzhpSJLlUjAGvjDWPTdYTaTOUzN2f3tT3z0lJWmdjglpyRD-p-E8pg/s1600/social_isolation_young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMO7-3lUOyLFVC7Ij_oO8Csx6HdbwGTpyKoyUPicXID14fWf16kVws4iC-a5Mhy3DTGQru2JUn28EZkx17-Hf27fzhpSJLlUjAGvjDWPTdYTaTOUzN2f3tT3z0lJWmdjglpyRD-p-E8pg/s200/social_isolation_young.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.453125px;">Numerous books, columns and blogs about this condition affirm that social problems arise because the sufferers are trying to hide the fact they have IBS from others. Keeping secrets is stressful, while being upfront and coming out of the closet is the best strategy. Is it really? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">Studies about emotional reactions towards people with chronic condition often lead to mixed results. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bbevKrA8MaGDHBSbNYR-fjSAnQ4pwZybvKqCL8AgjrLWnJBF6k3zwID1BhQJXqruECNkCYiEa1GjNT7QkXqjx5DfZoNeixAefYyCdkGJvqtRy7ACRt5TXc6x3Qm4oF2MSG14tunbPZo/s1600/embarrassment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bbevKrA8MaGDHBSbNYR-fjSAnQ4pwZybvKqCL8AgjrLWnJBF6k3zwID1BhQJXqruECNkCYiEa1GjNT7QkXqjx5DfZoNeixAefYyCdkGJvqtRy7ACRt5TXc6x3Qm4oF2MSG14tunbPZo/s200/embarrassment.jpg" width="200" /></a>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">For example, there was a slight increase in the readiness to feel pity to depressed people since the 90s, yet </span><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">there was no increase in compassion.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">The most important consequence of TMAU - a metabolic disorder causing an offensive body odor - is social. This condition is not a subject of compassion, but rejection </span><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">and </span><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">ridicule resulting in low self-esteem, social ostracizing, anxiety and depression.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">Obese people (body mass index of 35 or higher - a condition that can't be hidden and kept in secret) are more likely to report day-to-day interpersonal discrimination and mistreatment. Recent study showed that </span><span style="line-height: 19.453125px;">weight discrimination makes people 2.5 times more obese after 4 years of discrimination instead of helping them to reduce their weight. People don't feel compassion as they consider obese individuals lazy, unsuccessful and weak-willed. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.453125px;">Same can be applied to IBS.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.453125px;">"The hardest thing is that other people who don’t have IBS can never understand what it is like”, says a sufferer in comments to an online article. People with IBS are often discriminated and the blows to self-esteem make it harder for them to make meaningful changes to their lifestyle, and to ease the symptoms. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAyM_ToBx-aiDMF8fZsVZd-RZmR0BAeWdE_zlVKw907UzQr3144d-bffSY_vAneIEXfZV2VRQPZc6ymZMRmrpL7GFAdryuWXq9JO64pED9mFKzzixoPf8PylM-4GTTDviGOKp3jH4AKpI/s1600/helping-hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAyM_ToBx-aiDMF8fZsVZd-RZmR0BAeWdE_zlVKw907UzQr3144d-bffSY_vAneIEXfZV2VRQPZc6ymZMRmrpL7GFAdryuWXq9JO64pED9mFKzzixoPf8PylM-4GTTDviGOKp3jH4AKpI/s200/helping-hands.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.453125px;">Compassion is a very valuable process that motivates sufferers as well as people around them to cooperate in achieving better outcomes. Professional education - based on visual arts and other methods - is often recommended in developing compassionate physicians,</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.453125px;"> dietitians and nurses. But shouldn't we teach society as a whole to be non-judgemental, treating sufferers of chronic conditions with respect and compassion? And what should those with chronic illness do in the current society? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.453125px;">Don't view your condition as a weakness and - when you need to tell others about it - keep it unemotional. People don't like sob stories, no matter how true or heartbreaking they are. Don't look for pity, impress them with your strength. </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.453125px;">Be able to tell the difference between a joke and bullying. Have a laugh with them and try to find better job environments and people that care.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19.453125px;">REFERENCES</span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=PloS+one&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F23894586&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Perceived+weight+discrimination+and+obesity.&rft.issn=&rft.date=2013&rft.volume=8&rft.issue=7&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Sutin+AR&rft.au=Terracciano+A&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CPsychology%2CHealth%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Emotion%2C%2C+Affective+Psychology">Sutin AR, & Terracciano A (2013). Perceived weight discrimination and obesity. <span style="font-style: italic;">PloS one, 8</span> (7) PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23894586" rev="review">23894586</a></span><br />
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Angermeyer MC, & Matschinger H (2004). Public attitudes to people with depression: have there been any changes over the last decade? <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of affective disorders, 83</span> (2-3), 177-82 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15555711" rev="review">15555711</a><br />
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Bray L, O'Brien MR, Kirton J, Zubairu K, & Christiansen A (2013). The role of professional education in developing compassionate practitioners: A mixed methods study exploring the perceptions of health professionals and pre-registration students. <span style="font-style: italic;">Nurse education today</span> PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23880325" rev="review">23880325</a><br />
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Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-75793016249690409772013-06-09T10:05:00.002-07:002013-06-09T10:05:31.817-07:00Is Your Work Giving you IBS?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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All jobs come with health risks. Some risks are obvious in the short-term, others seem very minor but with plenty of negative long-term consequences. Such as weight gain or irritable bowel syndrome.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghl-cFxbbIOrq_HA-DNSZ-j45wfX8zgM-9W_wTsv0quAFn7OlsfUBj5BgBX89TRppX2eBaKfU7SYekgkhHuK-SIiWbr2LOqpCU7BuGI9B9gkRIlE9eQ3xW-TsbdyYuYEKDe4PTXOEFJPc/s1600/job_making_you_sick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghl-cFxbbIOrq_HA-DNSZ-j45wfX8zgM-9W_wTsv0quAFn7OlsfUBj5BgBX89TRppX2eBaKfU7SYekgkhHuK-SIiWbr2LOqpCU7BuGI9B9gkRIlE9eQ3xW-TsbdyYuYEKDe4PTXOEFJPc/s320/job_making_you_sick.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAseSCzP5FkyuaV8AdJu4VgAUfqtI_Li1GqlWGtmVJL7xqSfOU1YmQLJVGBblmKNqE7c9uGO8fXOmQQHzh43LZzow_pKaquvt1oa3fjDp4j_WHRmzfzvIy0vQd48oVxMp2eDxXOiH7-k/s1600/MostLikelyToGainWeightOnTheJob.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAseSCzP5FkyuaV8AdJu4VgAUfqtI_Li1GqlWGtmVJL7xqSfOU1YmQLJVGBblmKNqE7c9uGO8fXOmQQHzh43LZzow_pKaquvt1oa3fjDp4j_WHRmzfzvIy0vQd48oVxMp2eDxXOiH7-k/s200/MostLikelyToGainWeightOnTheJob.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Most likely to gain weight on the job</span></td></tr>
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Recent <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=5%2F30%2F2013&id=pr760&ed=12%2F31%2F2013" target="_blank">CareerBuilder report</a> shows that employees spending long hours behind a desk or experiencing high levels of stress gain weight on the job. Chances to gain weight are 69% for administrative assistants, 56% for engineers including software developers, 51% for teachers and K-12 instructors, 51% for B14 nurse practitioners and physician assistants, 51% for IT managers and network administrators, 46% for attorneys, judges and legal professionals, 45% for operators, assembly line and production workers and 39% for biological, physical and social scientists.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJChMxZMQc70tbCZrEKo2dxYCszh38q5FgbSL4YFCLgd0AyK8OJE7wWyIZ4wjxjk61tnQlY3tOMRAi3EoCHyM5oVcNA-N9FPH3wysUlUE92hxXwxjHb2OrhyZV2hW1bG4tyFOtyOyq9uE/s1600/careercast-ranking-list-the-10-most-stressful-jobs-in-america.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJChMxZMQc70tbCZrEKo2dxYCszh38q5FgbSL4YFCLgd0AyK8OJE7wWyIZ4wjxjk61tnQlY3tOMRAi3EoCHyM5oVcNA-N9FPH3wysUlUE92hxXwxjHb2OrhyZV2hW1bG4tyFOtyOyq9uE/s320/careercast-ranking-list-the-10-most-stressful-jobs-in-america.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome is also associated with stressful, sedentary and less regular lifestyles. Some studies showed that this common disorder is more prevalent among the unemployed, those with lower income and education. But this could be a consequence rather than the cause. As IBS is more likely to occur in teenagers and singles (or stressed heads of households) under the age of 40. And the younger the person, the more it affects the social functioning, making it more difficult to get higher education, employment and advance career.<br />
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Studies all over the world showed that students are among the most vulnerable to IBS populations. The risk of getting it is 30% or higher. High stress, irregular schedules and lousy diets are a way of life for most students. Attending a university or college is a stressful experience, indeed. IBS flareups, however, do not directly correlate with stress <i>per se</i>, rather with the perceived stress. A study that looked at military veterans, for example, found that those who developed IBS had twice higher rates of anxiety and depression than other veterans. Female veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder had 3-9 times higher rate of IBS. Prevalence of IBS in female veterans was about 40%, higher than for students. Rates of IBS among another stressful profession - nursing - are about the same as for students. But rates for rotating shift nurses can be as high as almost 50% - even higher than for military personnel. <br />
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So, if you want to avoid IBS, become a dietitian - it's one of the least stressful jobs with fixed hours and opportunities to think about healthy food choices. Or be your own <a href="http://aurametrix.com/" target="_blank">Aurametrix</a>, to find what foods, activities and environmental exposures work best for you - and in what amounts and combinations.<br />
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REFERENCES
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Kim HI, Jung SA, Choi JY, Kim SE, Jung HK, Shim KN, & Yoo K. (2013) <a class="blue" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23487413">Impact of shiftwork on irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia.</a> Journal of Korean medical science, 28(3), 431-7. PMID: <a class="blue" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23487413">23487413</a><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=The+American+journal+of+gastroenterology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F20160712&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=The+impact+of+rotating+shift+work+on+the+prevalence+of+irritable+bowel+syndrome+in+nurses.&rft.issn=0002-9270&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=105&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=842&rft.epage=7&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Nojkov+B&rft.au=Rubenstein+JH&rft.au=Chey+WD&rft.au=Hoogerwerf+WA&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CPsychology%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Social+Psychology">Nojkov B, Rubenstein JH, Chey WD, & Hoogerwerf WA (2010). The impact of rotating shift work on the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in nurses. <span style="font-style: italic;">The American journal of gastroenterology, 105</span> (4), 842-7 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20160712" rev="review">20160712</a></span>
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Open+Journal+of+Gastroenterology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.4236%2Fojgas.2013.31009&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Irritable+bowel+syndrome+in+Chinese+nursing+and+medical+school+students%E2%80%94Related+lifestyle+and+psychological+factors&rft.issn=2163-9450&rft.date=2013&rft.volume=03&rft.issue=01&rft.spage=55&rft.epage=63&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scirp.org%2Fjournal%2FPaperDownload.aspx%3FDOI%3D10.4236%2Fojgas.2013.31009&rft.au=Okami%2C+Y.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism">Okami, Y. (2013). Irritable bowel syndrome in Chinese nursing and medical school students—Related lifestyle and psychological factors <span style="font-style: italic;">Open Journal of Gastroenterology, 03</span> (01), 55-63 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojgas.2013.31009" rev="review">10.4236/ojgas.2013.31009</a></span>
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Jafri W, Yakoob J, Jafri N, Islam M, & Ali QM. (2005) <a class="blue" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16599025">Frequency of irritable bowel syndrome in college students.</a> Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad : JAMC, 17(4), 9-11. PMID: <a class="blue" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16599025">16599025</a><br />
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Gulewitsch MD, Enck P, Hautzinger M, & Schlarb AA. (2011) <a class="blue" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21399505">Irritable
bowel syndrome symptoms among German students: prevalence,
characteristics, and associations to somatic complaints, sleep, quality
of life, and childhood abdominal pain.</a> European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology, 23(4), 311-6. PMID: <a class="blue" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21399505">21399505</a><br />
<br />
Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2013 Feb;35(2):84-9.
Irritable bowel syndrome in women with chronic pelvic pain in a Northeast Brazilian city.
Lessa LM, Chein MB, da Silva DS, Poli Neto OB, Nogueira AA, Coelho LS, Brito LM.</div>
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Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2012 Jul;10(7):712-721.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2012.02.029. Epub 2012 Mar 15.
Global prevalence of and risk factors for irritable bowel syndrome: a meta-analysis.
Lovell RM, Ford AC.</div>
<br />
Dig Dis Sci. 2006 Mar;51(3):446-53.
Prevalence, sociodemography, and quality of life of older versus younger patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a population-based study.
Minocha A, Johnson WD, Abell TL, Wigington WC.<br />
<br /></div>
Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-91349338430906550962013-05-14T10:20:00.000-07:002013-05-14T11:15:27.695-07:00Coffee: Bugs and Debugging<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkD58IFm8EowVSdyEkzWcxmHNpzfR5v6wEMU-039_OtF4QJHZ0msZSvhejnuFGgy6MY56wgXc615ta4dVdyDnoxdnnz4QLkILHXM_mpZg6XW1QZIQ_DSPRQTF_WDcPHtjBK8HL0KiR_CE/s1600/coffeeBug.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkD58IFm8EowVSdyEkzWcxmHNpzfR5v6wEMU-039_OtF4QJHZ0msZSvhejnuFGgy6MY56wgXc615ta4dVdyDnoxdnnz4QLkILHXM_mpZg6XW1QZIQ_DSPRQTF_WDcPHtjBK8HL0KiR_CE/s1600/coffeeBug.gif" /></a></div>
<a href="http://aurametrix.com/info/Coffee" target="_blank">Coffee</a> can bug or de-bug you - in many different ways.<br />
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It can actually energize your gut bugs. Nestlé researchers showed that for sixteen healthy adult volunteers consuming a daily dose of 3 cups of coffee during 3 weeks. This led to an increase of the metabolic activity and/or numbers of <a href="http://aurametrix.com/info/Bifidobacteria" target="_blank">Bifidobacterium species</a>, important probiotics in the food industry. Bifidobacteria has been long suggested to be therapeutic for the relief of intestinal disorders, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). These microbes can crowd out the bad bacteria and fight inflammation. Does it mean coffee can alleviate IBS?<br />
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Unfortunately, no one was ever able to cure IBS with coffee. And diets lowering the amounts of bifidobacteria (like low <a href="http://aurametrix.com/info/FODMAPs" target="_blank">FODMAP</a> diet) are actually most beneficial for conditions associated with bacterial imbalance. Even though Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16863564" target="_blank">was shown to help women</a> at a dosage of 1x10<sup style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">8 </sup>CFU for 4 weeks (but not 10<sup style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">6 </sup>or 10<sup style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">8 </sup>CFU!) with abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation and other IBS symptoms. And B. lactis DN-173 010 helped healthy women to reduce transit time when 10<sup style="color: #3f3f3f; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">10 </sup>CFU of these bacteria was taken for 10 days.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0168160509000166-gr1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="86" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0168160509000166-gr1.jpg" title="coffee energizes your bacteria" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Arial Unicode', Arial, 'URW Gothic L', Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">RNA-DGGE gels of fecal samples showing abundance <br />and/or metabolic activity of dominant bacteria <br /><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160509000166" target="_blank">before and after</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #5c5c5c; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Arial Unicode', Arial, 'URW Gothic L', Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160509000166" target="_blank"> coffee consumption</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Too much of a good thing can be a problem and it's important to keep even "good" bacteria at bay. How much is too much coffee for IBS sufferers? It depends. And it varies from being able to only <a href="http://aurametrix.com/info/Smells" target="_blank">smell</a> coffee (which might be enough to protect from stress and cavities) to drinking two cups per day.<br />
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Everything is relative. That's why Aurametrix computes tolerance profiles based on many different factors - time of the consumption relative to wake up and bed times, diet an hour, week and month prior to consumption, medications and supplements, activity, gender, medical history, stress levels, the weather and genetics.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmscaQUP_tZdF7W-YlZ4Y2txJ5BaU0MZhyphenhyphenSaE2-OkI_T8QbqM7j-Ls9g-8OdOQlcEy-5bgtbjPQZXebL4_vy6OQSGlUO0tGTtddtfNHArvSM1QqbjsH6tL35_VWcPImvEggmnI9hTAhs/s1600/Rottenecards_coffee_tolerance.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmscaQUP_tZdF7W-YlZ4Y2txJ5BaU0MZhyphenhyphenSaE2-OkI_T8QbqM7j-Ls9g-8OdOQlcEy-5bgtbjPQZXebL4_vy6OQSGlUO0tGTtddtfNHArvSM1QqbjsH6tL35_VWcPImvEggmnI9hTAhs/s320/Rottenecards_coffee_tolerance.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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General recommendation for healthy people is to limit their coffee intake to about 4 or 3 cups - for men and women respectively. To prevent insomnia, digestive issues, a racing heart, high blood pressure, nervousness, irritability, nausea, risk of developing glaucoma and other short & long term problems. And it's best to drink coffee in the first half of the day - as caffeine's half life is 5 hours or more, longer with unhealthy diet and medical conditions (it could be up to 7 days for people with alcoholic hepatic disease!). The worse your coffee metabolism is, the less you should drink it. Genetically-slow caffeine metabolizers (individuals homozygous for the CYP1A2*1A allele in their genes) should actually limit coffee to 1 cup or less, to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. Rapid caffeine metabolizers with CYP1A2*1F genotype, on the other hand, could reduce their heart failure risk by moderate consumption of coffee. Coffee could help mice avoid skin cancer - but only if they are also vigorously exercising. It can prevent reoccurence of breast cancer - if you already had it and are taking tamoxifen. With the right genes, bacteria, diet, activities and the brain gut axis, moderate amounts of coffee can also decrease risks of type 2 diabetes, depression, workplace apathy, cognitive decline, gout attacks, respiratory disease, infections, stroke, injuries and accidents.<br />
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But these are statistical averages. And you are not average. You are unique and paradoxical in your own wonderful way. Aurametrix was created to help you understand that.<br />
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What is your Coffee worth?<br />
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REFERENCES<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=International+journal+of+food+microbiology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F19217682&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Impact+of+coffee+consumption+on+the+gut+microbiota%3A+a+human+volunteer+study.&rft.issn=0168-1605&rft.date=2009&rft.volume=130&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=117&rft.epage=21&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Jaquet+M&rft.au=Rochat+I&rft.au=Moulin+J&rft.au=Cavin+C&rft.au=Bibiloni+R&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CHealth%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology"><br /></span>
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=International+journal+of+food+microbiology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F19217682&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Impact+of+coffee+consumption+on+the+gut+microbiota%3A+a+human+volunteer+study.&rft.issn=0168-1605&rft.date=2009&rft.volume=130&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=117&rft.epage=21&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Jaquet+M&rft.au=Rochat+I&rft.au=Moulin+J&rft.au=Cavin+C&rft.au=Bibiloni+R&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CHealth%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology">Jaquet M, Rochat I, Moulin J, Cavin C, & Bibiloni R (2009). Impact of coffee consumption on the gut microbiota: a human volunteer study. <span style="font-style: italic;">International journal of food microbiology, 130</span> (2), 117-21 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19217682" rev="review">19217682</a></span><br />
<br />
Cornelis, MC et al., 2006. Coffee, CYP1A2 genotype, and risk of myocardial infarction. J. Amer. Med. Assn. 295(10):1135-1141.<br />
<br />
Nehlig A: The neuroprotective effects of cocoa flavanol and its influence
on cognitive performance. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2013, 75:716–727.<br />
<br />
Lucas M, Mirzaei F, Pan A, Okereke OI, Willett WC, O'Reilly ÉJ, Koenen K,
Ascherio A: Coffee, caffeine, and risk of depression among women. Arch
Intern Med 2011, 171:1571–1578<br />
<br />
Jin JS, Touyama M, Hisada T, Benno Y: Effects of green tea consumption
on human fecal microbiota with special reference to Bifidobacterium
species. Microbiol Immunol 2012, 56:729–739.<br />
<br />
Maria Simonsson, Viktoria Söderlind, Maria Henningson, Maria Hjertberg, Carsten Rose, Christian Ingvar, Helena Jernström. Coffee prevents early events in tamoxifen-treated breast cancer patients and modulates hormone receptor status. Cancer Causes & Control, 2013; 24 (5): 929 DOI: 10.1007/s10552-013-0169-1<br />
<br />
Tzounis X, Rodriguez-Mateos A, Vulevic J, Gibson GR, Kwik-Uribe C, Spencer JP:
Prebiotic evaluation of cocoa-derived flavanols in healthy humans by using
a randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover intervention study. Am J
Clin Nutr 2011, 93:62–72.<br />
<br />
Mostofsky E, Rice MS, Levitan EB, Mittleman MA. Habitual coffee consumption and risk of heart failure: a dose-response meta-analysis. Circ Heart Fail. 2012 Jul 1;5(4):401-5. <a href="http://circheartfailure.ahajournals.org/content/early/2012/06/26/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.112.967299.abstract" target="_blank">doi: 10.1161</a>/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.112.967299. Epub 2012 Jun 26.<br />
<br />
Gabashvili, I. <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/04/30/why-red-beans-and-rice-are-good-but-not-with-coffee/" target="_blank">Why red beans and rice are good.. but not with coffee</a>. Forbes, 4/30/2012</div>
Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-3025454799638534872012-12-24T20:31:00.000-08:002013-01-24T22:48:53.874-08:00Molehills and Mountains<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZb_j5qb_nqzGiMbupSJpd6FpG9flp-Acyc35gaQQrwnZcBoov25OY6_3oeJmDN0E5GcYrIOgvEhNdmUmZdT63FdZvxPM5-RS908uBNQ2tXlXOswIRznnze7Ma77UrtTTzx3QPKhiIP1c/s1600/mountain_molehill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZb_j5qb_nqzGiMbupSJpd6FpG9flp-Acyc35gaQQrwnZcBoov25OY6_3oeJmDN0E5GcYrIOgvEhNdmUmZdT63FdZvxPM5-RS908uBNQ2tXlXOswIRznnze7Ma77UrtTTzx3QPKhiIP1c/s320/mountain_molehill.jpg" width="320" /></a>If you suffer from IBS, chances are you're very considerate of others and even possibly an anxious ''catastrophizer.'' It was repeatedly concluded based on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and psychological questionnaires - for students and non-students, Easterners and Westerners, right-handed and left-handed individuals. In fact, IBS sufferers' anxieties are somewhere in between those of people with Crohn's disease (similar to healthy persons) and panic patients. And many IBS sufferers are convinced that social and occupational implications of their gastrointestinal symptoms are a catastrophe.<br />
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As someone once said, catastrophizing is not just about watching slow German films or reading Russian literature and feeling as though life is an intolerable and senseless joke. If practiced properly, catastrophizing could make many things go wrong and create a reality around our worries and fears. Including fears focused on the gut. Because if you believe something will go wrong, you make it go wrong.<br />
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But is it the personality that makes us susceptible to IBS or is it IBS that changes our personality? The connection between the brain and the gut is definitely bidirectional. So this question might be a chicken-and-egg problem. <br />
<br />
Animal studies suggest that perturbations of behavior, such as stress, can alter microbial communities in the gut. Experimental perturbation of the microbial communities, in its turn, can alter behavior. Getting rid of some microbes helped mice to reduce anxiety or even become bold and adventurous (after neomycin, bacitracin, and pimaricin antibiotics were administered to timid and shy BALB/c mice), while adding new species of bacteria such as <a href="http://aurametrix.com/info/Campylobacter%20jejuni">Campylobacter jejuni</a> made mice more cautious.<br />
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Many recent studies indicate the possibility of discovering bacteria specific for different types of IBS. But you can make your own discoveries before science does. Such as the best <a href="http://aurametrix.com/food">diet</a>, <a href="http://aurametrix.com/activity">exercise</a> and emotional <a href="http://aurametrix.com/info/Mood">attitude</a> to cultivate the bacteria of success.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="1760" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dEFaOGV2Z2R5UkdBQUNBTHJGbkNEQlE6MQ" width="760">Loading...</iframe><br />
Your result will be the last one in the table below. It might take up to 24 hrs for it to appear so please come back to see it.<br />
Your score is represented in three dimensions:<br />
rumination (repetitiveness of focusing on the symptoms of distress), magnification (the degree to which you tend to magnify your symptoms) and hopelessness (the despair you feel when you have abandoned hope of comfort or success).<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AtlX-do-OqCrdEFaOGV2Z2R5UkdBQUNBTHJGbkNEQlE&single=true&gid=1&output=html&widget=true" width="500"></iframe>
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REFERENCES<br />
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Hazlett-Stevens H, Craske MG, Mayer EA, et al. Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among university students: the roles of worry, neuroticism, anxiety sensitivity and visceral anxiety. J Psychosom Res 2003;55:501–505.<br />
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Ng SM, Chow KW. Symptoms catastrophizing versus social hypervigilance in irritable bowel syndrome patients. Soc Work Health Care. 2012;51(8):743-56. doi: 10.1080/00981389.2012.701001.<br />
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Hunt MG, Moshier S, Milonova M. Brief cognitive-behavioral internet therapy for irritable bowel syndrome. Behav Res Ther. 2009 Sep;47(9):797-802. Epub 2009 May 20.<br />
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Eric L. Garland, Susan A. Gaylord, Olafur Palsson, Keturah Faurot, J. Douglas Mann and William E. Whitehead Therapeutic mechanisms of a mindfulness-based treatment for IBS: effects on visceral sensitivity, catastrophizing, and affective processing of pain sensations. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2011, Dec. 8<br />
<br />
Blankstein U, Chen J, Diamant NE, Davis KD. Altered brain structure in irritable bowel syndrome: potential contributions of pre-existing and disease-driven factors.<br />
Gastroenterology. 2010 May;138(5):1783-9. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2009.12.043. Epub 2010 Jan 4.<br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Nature+reviews.+Microbiology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F23000955&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=The+interplay+between+the+intestinal+microbiota+and+the+brain.&rft.issn=1740-1526&rft.date=2012&rft.volume=10&rft.issue=11&rft.spage=735&rft.epage=42&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Collins+SM&rft.au=Surette+M&rft.au=Bercik+P&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CMedicine%2CPsychology%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology">Collins SM, Surette M, & Bercik P (2012). The interplay between the intestinal microbiota and the brain. <span style="font-style: italic;">Nature reviews. Microbiology, 10</span> (11), 735-42 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23000955" rev="review">23000955</a></span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Neufeld KM, Kang N, Bienenstock J, Foster JA. Reduced anxiety-like behavior and central neurochemical change in germ-free mice. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2011 Mar;23(3):255-64, e119. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2982.2010.01620.x. Epub 2010 Nov 5.<br />
<br />
Collins SM, Bercik P. The relationship between intestinal microbiota and the central nervous system in normal gastrointestinal function and disease. Gastroenterology. 2009 May;136(6):2003-14. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2009.01.075. Epub 2009 May 7.<br />
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<br />
Goehler LE, Park SM, Opitz N, Lyte M, Gaykema RP. Campylobacter jejuni infection increases anxiety-like behavior in the holeboard: possible anatomical substrates for viscerosensory modulation of exploratory behavior. Brain Behav Immun. 2008 Mar;22(3):354-66. Epub 2007 Oct 24.<br />
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Sullivan MJL, Bishop S, Pivik J. The Pain Catastrophizing scale:
development and validation. Psychol Assess 1995;7:524–32. (<a href="http://sullivan-painresearch.mcgill.ca/pdf/pcs/PCSManual_English.pdf">the manual</a>)<br />
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Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-24563132114224924922012-08-05T19:50:00.000-07:002012-08-05T19:56:10.757-07:00Carbohydrates for your bacteria<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmCP2txELObgAsilbfPXawSmrAhycvoYQmWW1QzN3KwMjRXZu-FdmX510hNOHWRrXQL8C7K6CGFqSz8Ebh02JMjhaIzHzWOVWE-UMYTEw8sYTstw3fv6ACNwkfp2AS4Q2kdN8QeT7fn4/s1600/support_bacteria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmCP2txELObgAsilbfPXawSmrAhycvoYQmWW1QzN3KwMjRXZu-FdmX510hNOHWRrXQL8C7K6CGFqSz8Ebh02JMjhaIzHzWOVWE-UMYTEw8sYTstw3fv6ACNwkfp2AS4Q2kdN8QeT7fn4/s320/support_bacteria.jpg" width="320" /></a>Our bacteria are picky eaters. Some of them - like <i>Prevotelia</i> - prefer a high carbohydrate diet, while others - like <i>Bacteroides</i> - stick to unhealthy western lifestyle with lots of meat and fat. The most prevalent bacteria in the gut of horses, cows and goats prefer people consuming alcohol and polyunsaturated fats. <i>Methanobrevibacter</i> is most abundant in anorexic nervosa patients. Gram negative bacillus <em>Bilophila wadsworthia</em> loves people with gangrenous appendicitis or those whose diets are high in milk fat. The most widely promoted prebiotics inulin and
fructooligosaccharides seem to attract <i>Bifidobacteria</i>. What about diets low in poorly absorbed fermentable carbohydrates aka <a href="http://aurametrix.com/fodmaps">FODMAPs</a> that seem to aggravate irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) ? Which bacteria is responsible?<br />
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A recently completed clinical <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN62040425/">trial</a> looked at the effects of low-FODMAP dieting by analyzing Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA), pH and other qualities of stool.<br />
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The data show that with less FODMAPs in the diet, there seemed to be less water and fermentable substances in the proximal colon, and less gastrointestinal distress in patients with IBS. This randomized controlled trial also demonstrated a reduction in concentration and proportion of luminal bifidobacteria after 4 weeks of fermentable carbohydrate restriction.<br />
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<i>Bifidobacteria</i>? Isn't it one of the "friendliest" bacteria alleviating symptoms in IBS, by normalizing the ratio of an anti-inflammatory to proinflammatory cytokines? At least, as was shown for <i>B.infanitis 35624</i> and <i>B. animalis DN-173 010</i> in different studies. It looks like that the most effective species and the implications of diets on the gastrointestinal microbiota are still uncertain. After all, another study showed that even though IBS sufferers have lower amounts of <i>Bifidobacteria</i> than non-sufferers, those whose symptoms are less severe show even lower amounts of <i>Bifidobacteria</i> in their samples.<br />
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What can we say except that more studies are needed...<br />
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REFERENCES<br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=The+Journal+of+nutrition&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F22739368&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Fermentable+carbohydrate+restriction+reduces+luminal+bifidobacteria+and+gastrointestinal+symptoms+in+patients+with+irritable+bowel+syndrome.&rft.issn=0022-3166&rft.date=2012&rft.volume=142&rft.issue=8&rft.spage=1510&rft.epage=8&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Staudacher+HM&rft.au=Lomer+MC&rft.au=Anderson+JL&rft.au=Barrett+JS&rft.au=Muir+JG&rft.au=Irving+PM&rft.au=Whelan+K&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CMedicine%2CHealth%2CNutrition%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology">Staudacher HM, Lomer MC, Anderson JL, Barrett JS, Muir JG, Irving PM, & Whelan K (2012). Fermentable carbohydrate restriction reduces luminal bifidobacteria and gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Journal of nutrition, 142</span> (8), 1510-8 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22739368" rev="review">22739368</a></span><br />
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Suzanne Devkota, Yunwei Wang, Mark W. Musch, Vanessa Leone, Hannah Fehlner-Peach, Anuradha Nadimpalli, Dionysios A. Antonopoulos, Bana Jabri, Eugene B. Chang. Dietary-fat-induced taurocholic acid promotes pathobiont expansion and colitis in Il10−/− mice. <i>Nature</i>, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11225<br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=International+journal+of+clinical+and+experimental+medicine&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F22837798&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Multistrain+probiotic+preparation+significantly+reduces+symptoms+of+irritable+bowel+syndrome+in+a+double-blind+placebo-controlled+study.&rft.issn=&rft.date=2012&rft.volume=5&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=238&rft.epage=44&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Cui+S&rft.au=Hu+Y&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CHealth%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology">Cui S, & Hu Y (2012). Multistrain probiotic preparation significantly reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. <span style="font-style: italic;">International journal of clinical and experimental medicine, 5</span> (3), 238-44 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22837798" rev="review">22837798</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Science+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F21885731&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Linking+long-term+dietary+patterns+with+gut+microbial+enterotypes.&rft.issn=0036-8075&rft.date=2011&rft.volume=334&rft.issue=6052&rft.spage=105&rft.epage=8&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Wu+GD&rft.au=Chen+J&rft.au=Hoffmann+C&rft.au=Bittinger+K&rft.au=Chen+YY&rft.au=Keilbaugh+SA&rft.au=Bewtra+M&rft.au=Knights+D&rft.au=Walters+WA&rft.au=Knight+R&rft.au=Sinha+R&rft.au=Gilroy+E&rft.au=Gupta+K&rft.au=Baldassano+R&rft.au=Nessel+L&rft.au=Li+H&rft.au=Bushman+FD&rft.au=Lewis+JD&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Biology%2CHealth%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology">Wu GD, Chen J, Hoffmann C, Bittinger K, Chen YY, Keilbaugh SA, Bewtra M, Knights D, Walters WA, Knight R, Sinha R, Gilroy E, Gupta K, Baldassano R, Nessel L, Li H, Bushman FD, & Lewis JD (2011). Linking long-term dietary patterns with gut microbial enterotypes. <span style="font-style: italic;">Science (New York, N.Y.), 334</span> (6052), 105-8 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21885731" rev="review">21885731</a></span><br />
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O'Mahony L, McCarthy J, Kelly P, Hurley G, Luo F, Chen K, O'Sullivan GC, Kiely B, Collins JK, Shanahan F, Quigley EM. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium in irritable bowel syndrome: symptom responses and relationship to cytokine profiles. <i>Gastroenterology. </i>2005 Mar;128(3):541-51.</div>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7614831063366810.post-5884837979813861452012-05-07T21:19:00.000-07:002012-05-19T23:52:00.012-07:00Finding the Goldilocks Solution<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsecvyjipXHr-6TIhyphenhyphenQmlqqMNXv-Dq_CckjLsVPWqdLDnMqJd3wvmWK5E5HAj40MJqR2SNdYSvqaLquLeFmhSljZzVVS4w1xzn9UHskVu5kJU8cUydm2M2dXggDFDUXcYISt72smzh24/s1600/dinosaurtweets_May7_2012.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsecvyjipXHr-6TIhyphenhyphenQmlqqMNXv-Dq_CckjLsVPWqdLDnMqJd3wvmWK5E5HAj40MJqR2SNdYSvqaLquLeFmhSljZzVVS4w1xzn9UHskVu5kJU8cUydm2M2dXggDFDUXcYISt72smzh24/s200/dinosaurtweets_May7_2012.png" title="Aurametrix: what people think about global warming caused by flatulence" width="200" /></a><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
A top story in today’s news is related
to a recent scientific paper published in <i>Current
Biology</i> concerning the dinosaurs. British scientists wanted to know, <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(12)00329-6">Could
methane produced by sauropod dinosaurs have helped drive Mesozoic climate
warmth?</a> By their estimates, some 520 million tons of methane (a
“greenhouse gas” emission) were produced by the flatulent beasts every year. This begs the question, do flatulent humans today
also contribute to global warming? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Probably not enough to be concerned
about. Even so, this doesn’t allay the anxieties people have about expulsing gas—anxieties
that have more to do with interpersonal relationships in the workplace than
with the implications of global warming. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9VDMNPp3PjfVUix_xGg5JxYcipQ22vVFd62brwdlGW1xHDk_09mqjc5tPMQziVCkxw_rWbkzN6qCkNU5rz1rTPM1BVkiaHSqImnbLwUkeNGS7w_1KVscYO3hZsBp15MH_bHUdkWaT1c/s1600/Gas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9VDMNPp3PjfVUix_xGg5JxYcipQ22vVFd62brwdlGW1xHDk_09mqjc5tPMQziVCkxw_rWbkzN6qCkNU5rz1rTPM1BVkiaHSqImnbLwUkeNGS7w_1KVscYO3hZsBp15MH_bHUdkWaT1c/s320/Gas.jpg" title="Aurametrix: Is holding gas good for you? " width="320" /></a>As Dr. Wynne-Jones says in an
article on diverticular disease, many bowel-related problems are in fact <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2875%2990677-7/abstract">confined
to modern urban communities</a> affecting “the cultured, the refined, the considerate.” <o:p></o:p>Folks go out of their way to avoid beans in their diet for fear of embarrassing
themselves in a working environment where everyone is packed together in
neighboring cubicles.</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Happily, Winham and Hutchins discovered that over 50% of people
can consume up to ½ cup of beans daily without any adverse effects. But how do
you know how much beans to eat on your own?
How do you arrive at the Goldilocks amount—not too much, not too little—that’s
just right for you?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Personal health analysis tools like
Aurametrix are already making it possible to apply systematic measures to
discover for ourselves our individual tolerance levels for a wide variety of
foods. As <a href="http://aurametrix.com/">Aurametrix</a> founder Irene Gabashvili remarked in her <a href="http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml">Forbes article</a>: “A digital nurse can analyze hundreds of ‘health
variables’ in search of patterns in the data. She could do this with far
greater precision than a physician or nutritionist, due to her ability to
quickly and tirelessly check all possible combinations. In a relatively short
timeframe she could narrow down the factors that are positively and negatively
influencing your health, while taking into consideration your pre-existing
conditions and sensitivities.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
To see the digital nurse in action, see the video below. It
shows how to pin-point the causes of a related, though potentially embarrassing,
physiological process: frequent stomach growling.</div>
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cvQYfm3x8sY?rel=0" width="640"></iframe>
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REFERENCES
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Current+Biology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.cub.2012.03.042&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Could+methane+produced+by+sauropod+dinosaurs+have+helped+drive+Mesozoic+climate+warmth%3F&rft.issn=09609822&rft.date=2012&rft.volume=22&rft.issue=9&rft.spage=0&rft.epage=0&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982212003296&rft.au=Wilkinson%2C+D.&rft.au=Nisbet%2C+E.&rft.au=Ruxton%2C+G.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Health%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology%2C+Protistology">Wilkinson, D., Nisbet, E., & Ruxton, G. (2012). Could methane produced by sauropod dinosaurs have helped drive Mesozoic climate warmth? <span style="font-style: italic;">Current Biology, 22</span> (9) DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.042" rev="review">10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.042</a></span> </li>
<li><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Nutrition+journal&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F22104320&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Perceptions+of+flatulence+from+bean+consumption+among+adults+in+3+feeding+studies.&rft.issn=&rft.date=2011&rft.volume=10&rft.issue=&rft.spage=128&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Winham+DM&rft.au=Hutchins+AM&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Health%2CNutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Gastroenterology%2C+Metabolism%2C+Microbiology">Winham DM, & Hutchins AM (2011). Perceptions of flatulence from bean consumption among adults in 3 feeding studies. <span style="font-style: italic;">Nutrition journal, 10</span> PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22104320" rev="review">22104320</a></span></li>
<li>Wynne-Jones, G. (1975) Flatus retention is the major factor in diverticular disease. <i>The Lancet</i>, 306 (7927), 211 - 212, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(75)90677-7</li>
</ul>
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</div>Aurametrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09473714823289213681noreply@blogger.com1