Tag: Gut Microbiome

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How Your Gut Microbiome Might be the Cause of Social Anxiety: New Insights from Science

By Aila Berrigan

Figure 1. Infographic about social anxiety. Graphic from zoelife, 2024.

Introduction: 

Ever wonder how much of an impact your gut microbiome really makes on everyday life? New research suggests your microbiome can affect your physical and emotional well being, including levels of social anxiety. “The gut microbiota shows compositional alterations in a variety of psychiatric disorders including depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia but studies investigating the gut microbiome in social anxiety disorder (SAD) are very limited” (Butler, 2023).Therefore researchers took it upon themselves to study the effects of our microbiome on social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder has become one of the most common psychiatric conditions with rates as high as 13% (Butler, 2023).  The current treatments for SAD are not always effective, “the use of psychosocial/psychotherapeutic approaches declines gradually from initiation of treatment over the course of 8 years” (Keller, 2003).  This has encouraged researchers to look at alternative treatments which ultimately led them to dive deeper into our gut-brain axis. “It is broadly recognized that the gut and brain are in constant bidirectional communication, of which gut microbiota and its metabolic production are a major component, and form the so-called gut microbiome–brain axis” (Sasso, 2023). With this information they hope to be able to predict and treat SAD through understanding the microbes at play.

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Guts, Genes, and Generations: Exploring Stress in the Microbiome

If you’ve ever met a set of identical twins, your initial impressions are likely about their similarities. Their height, facial features, and sometimes their mannerisms look like a reflection of the other. Visual similarities in identical twins can be traced back to genetics. When two people share the exact same set of DNA, their genes encode the same physical characteristics. But take a closer look, and you might notice that twins are not exactly the same. For example, their weight and skin texture may be different. One might develop a disease like cancer that the other never will. This discrepancy can be explained by environmental factors. Environment plays a huge role in shaping a person’s life. It can even affect how somebody’s genes work without ever changing their DNA (Peixoto et. al 2020). The study of the environment’s effect on genes is called epigenetics. Epigenetic changes can be passed down from parent to child (Geraghty et. al 2016).

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Fibromyalgia: a Mystery Disease?

What is Fibromyalgia and who does it affect? 

Could you imagine waking up every day with pain that never goes away? That is the reality many fibromyalgia sufferers experience in their everyday lives. Fibromyalgia is from the Latin word fiber (fiber) and the Greek words myo (muscle) and algos (pain). These root words offer a glimpse into what fibromyalgia is and how it causes suffering. It is a pain of the fibrous tissues and muscle in the human body. While anyone of any background regardless of race or ethnicity can get fibromyalgia, it typically affects women more than men (NIH, 2024). You are more likely to develop fibromyalgia as you age, and if a family member has fibromyalgia. There are cases of children and young adults having fibromyalgia, but it usually occurs in middle-aged women (Erdrich et al., 2023).

Around 2 to 4% of adults live with the challenges of fibromyalgia (Stewart, 2022). They wake up, feeling exhausted, struggling to get through daily tasks, and facing unpredictable flare-ups. This chronic condition, along with many other symptoms mentioned can affect your mental health,  sleep and cognitive issues like brain fog, chronic headaches, and memory impairment. In addition, It can also make you more at risk for depression and anxiety by more than 50% (Freirich et al., 2021). Figure 1(A) displays many of the possible or common symptoms that sufferers of fibromyalgia have. The National Institute of Health has a great page about fibromyalgia, including its symptoms, causes and an overview. 

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From Your Gut to Your Heart: The Surprising Role of Exercise in Cardiac Recovery

Background:

The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining human health by interacting with host metabolism, immune function, and disease states. The diverse microbial communities within our gut not only contribute to digestion and nutrient absorption but also produce various metabolites (small molecules created when the body breaks down food and other substances) that influence overall health of the body. Who knew that a heart-healthy life might start with some gutsy friends in our microbiome? As exercise continues to grow in popularity as part of a healthy lifestyle, interest is also growing in understanding how it affects health beyond fitness. 

Recent studies have examined how exercise impacts the gut microbiome (Lambert et al., 2015; Motiani et al., 2020) as well as how these microbiome changes may influence cardiovascular health, showing that exercise can modify gut microbiota composition and potentially offer protective effects against cardiovascular conditions (Longoria et al., 2022; Zhou et al., 2022). Understanding the mechanisms behind these relationships could lead to new therapeutic approaches aimed at treating cardiovascular health complications.

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Heart Health in Your Gut: How the Microbiome Affects Cardiovascular Disease

When we think about heart health, the gut probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, new research is shedding light on how the trillions of microorganisms living in our digestive tract—collectively known as the gut microbiome—may play a surprising role in cardiovascular disease (Zhang, Y. et al., 2022).

Cardiovascular Disease: The World’s Deadliest Threat

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), is an umbrella term for conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, including coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke and high blood pressure. These conditions are the leading cause of death worldwide, with heart attack and stroke being responsible for 85% of these deaths (World Health Organization, 2021). While many factors contribute to CVD, including diet, lifestyle, and genetics, scientists are discovering that the composition of our gut microbiome might also be a key player (Zhang, Y. et al., 2022).

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Rat Microbiomes and Metabolites; a Way to Learn About the Human Stress Response?

Stress, Development, and the Microbiome  

Stress, the sort that persists and comes from sources beyond our control, can be detrimental to our health,  and even more so to the young (Luna R. et al. 2015). When outside sources of stress are present from a young age, normal development and the adult stress response is impacted in a way that makes healthy coping with stress more difficult throughout life (McEwen et al. 2011) (Eliand L. et al. 2013). Environmental stressors can not only cause developmental changes and impact overall health but can also cause changes to a person’s microbiome or the sum of microbes that coexist with an individual. Which could in-turn alter the sort of metabolites a person secretes (Verbeke K et al. 2015).  

Sprague Dawley rat from Charles River Laboratories Source: crivier.com
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The Future of Predicting Cancer Could Involve Microbes

Background

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) makes up a large proportion of cancer in the United States. CRC occurs in two locations, the colon and rectum. It is the 3rd most diagnosed type of cancer in the U.S., and in 2021 it is estimated there will be just over 100,000 cases of colon cancer and around 45,000 cases of rectal cancer leading to more than 50,000 deaths (American Cancer Society, 2021).

Colorectal cancer causes the third most cancer-related deaths among men and women separately, and if you combine into one population it causes the second most. The actual death rate of CRC has decreased in the last couple of decades due to increase in effectiveness and quantity of screenings (e.g. colonoscopy) which look for signs of CRC, including polyps (small clump of cells that can be cancerous) located in the rectum/colon (Stewart and Carter-Templeton, 2017). Even with the ability to screen and look for physical changes in the colon/rectum, many people still die from CRC and it is a major problem facing the field of oncology and medicine in general.

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Are Your Microbes Making You Anxious?

Background: 

Anxiety and depression are at an all-time high, with more diagnoses and higher disability ratings (Spitchak, 2020). Mental health disorders like this have been linked to inflammation in the gut, as the immune system is activated by stress (Spitchak, 2020). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and anxiety-reducing medications like benzodiazepines are the current gold standard for managing long-term chronic stress and anxiety, as well as short-term needs like panic or anxiety attacks (Ballenger, 2000). These methods do help, but some people have drug-resistant depression, and others simply prefer a greater variety of options to manage their symptoms. Getting outside more has long been accepted as a mental health boost, both from the calming peaceful environment to the vitamin D exposure, to the clean air, and even the soil microbes (Asprey, 2021). A less conventional option than a simple walk may exist and appears to be emerging after 16 plus years of research by Chris Lowry, who has been working with the soil bacterium M. vaccae since the early 2000s.

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Sleepless Nights, on the Relationship between Insomnia and the Gut Microbiome

Background: 

Sleep disorders can have a major impact on health, and when sleep cycles are disturbed this can increase the risk of additional disorders such as cardiovascular diseases or obesity. ‘Sleep disorder’ is a vast term that can be applied to anything from sleep quality to length of time spent asleep, and can include a variety of disorders such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, and predominantly insomnia. Insomnia is a disorder where individuals have trouble falling asleep, or staying awake and also focuses on quality of sleep. Insomnia doesn’t stem from a single source in the human body. It has many unknown factors contributing to its condition. So, one of the best ways to move forward in helping treat insomnia is by looking at the various aspects of the body that contribute to it, starting with the human microbiome. 

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How does IBS impact the gut microbiome?

Background:

What is IBS?  Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a functional bowel disorder.  Functional GI (gastrointestinal) Disorders are defined as being related to how your gut and brain work together: this can make your intestines more sensitive, which can change how the muscles associated with your gut contract.  IBS is most often associated with abdominal pain and cramping, changes in bowel movement and excess gas.  Though IBS is non-fatal there are significant impacts on the quality of life of those affected, leading to mobility issues, chronic pain, and increases in anxiety and depression.  While IBS is often a diagnosis of exclusion and the exact cause is not known, some risk factors of IBS are family history; if you are young (under the age of 50), are female, or have mental health issues, like anxiety or depression (1).   IBS has also been known as a spastic colon, spastic colitis, and mucous colitis. Continue reading “How does IBS impact the gut microbiome?”