Your gut is directly connected to your brain

[littlemissmartypants]

Your gut is directly connected to your brain, by a newly discovered neuron circuit

The human gut is lined with more than 100 million nerve cells—it’s practically a brain unto itself. And indeed, the gut actually talks to the brain, releasing hormones into the bloodstream that, over the course of about 10 minutes, tell us how hungry it is, or that we shouldn’t have eaten an entire pizza. But a new study reveals the gut has a much more direct connection to the brain through a neural circuit that allows it to transmit signals in mere seconds. The findings could lead to new treatments for obesity, eating disorders, and even depression and autism—all of which have been linked to a malfunctioning gut.

The study reveals “a new set of pathways that use gut cells to rapidly communicate with … the brain stem,” says Daniel Drucker, a clinician-scientist who studies gut disorders at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, who was not involved with the work. Although many questions remain before the clinical implications become clear, he says, “This is a cool new piece of the puzzle.”

In 2010, neuroscientist Diego Bohórquez of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, made a startling discovery while looking through his electron microscope. Enteroendocrine cells, which stud the lining of the gut and produce hormones that spur digestion and suppress hunger, had footlike protrusions that resemble the synapses neurons use to communicate with each other. Bohórquez knew the enteroendocrine cells could send hormonal messages to the central nervous system, but he also wondered whether they could “talk” to the brain using electrical signals, the way that neurons do. If so, they would have to send the signals through the vagus nerve, which travels from the gut to the brain stem.

... more at link.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/09/your-gut-directly-connected-your-brain-newly-discovered-neuron-circuit

♡lmsp

[Ilsa]

1. Not all Autism is necessarily linked to a malfunctioning gut.

Just saying.

We've done special diets, the whole deal. No results.

[littlemissmartypants]

2. Fecal transplants have worked for some medical conditions.

I'm sorry to hear that diet modifications haven't worked out. I don't have any other suggestions, only sympathy. I wish you all the best!
♡lmsp

[Bearware]

10. There seems to be pretty strong evidence that many cases of ASD are significantly autoimmune

I ran into this 12+ years ago when my wife developed Cerebellar Ataxia (resulting in a serious decline in motor skills) which ultimately turned out to be autoimmune. She had a form of celiac disease but the antibody she produced attached to a less commonly used epitope on the gliadin molecule (gliadin is a fragment of the gluten protein molecule) and this antibody also attached to a protein used by the large motor neurons in her cerebellum.

In her case we were able to reduce the anti-gliadin antibodies her immune system produced enough that her motor skills measurably improved as the anti-gliadin antibody levels fell. To do this we raised her vitamin D levels very significantly, put her on a very strict gluten free diet (we made her meals from raw ingredients and tested for gluten) and finally added helminth therapy. IVIG therapy had little effect.

There are some antibodies in the brain in some significant fraction of ASD children. Vitamin D is really a hormone that is normally produced by the body on skin exposure to ultraviolet-B light from the sun. In our modern society, many people are very deficient on vitamin D because of sun avoidance and sunscreen. Without taking supplements it is extremely difficult to get enough vitamin D. Nursing mothers who have inadequate levels of vitamin D pass almost none to their infants until the mothers blood levels are adequate. All of this is important because vitamin D is essential to control of the immune system and is a known immuno-modulator which can reduce immune system reactivity and therefore antibody production.

For ASD specific information I recommend starting with Dr. Cannell's book. He also runs the www.vitamindcouncil.org site. He is a pshychiatrist and is very active in vitamin D research community.

Autism Causes, Prevention and Treatment: Vitamin D Deficiency and the Explosive Rise of Autism Spectrum Disorder
byJohn Cannell MD


Vitamin D supplementation is the first place to start because it is the probably simplest, cheapest and safest thing you can do. People (lifeguards, outdoor farmers, fishermen, aboriginal peoples etc.) who have significant unexposed skin exposure to summer sun have blood levels above 50 ng/ml. The vast majority of people in the developed world are far below this level.

Diet it obviously far more involved and has disappointing results if antibodies that may be involved are not affected by the specific diet.

I first learned about the autoimmune side of ASD when I met the father of a profoundly affected autistic son online. His son had
been at a summer camp and came back with tremendous improvements in social skills along with chigger bites all over his legs. When the chigger bites faded so did the improvements. The chigger bites clearly competed for antibody production with the antibodies specific to his ASD symptoms resulting in a temporary reduction in the latter.

Both my wife and the father's son markedly temporarily improved with helminth therapy which also involves reductions in immune system antibodies. This is a much more costly and involved process. With ASD age can also be a significant factor in any response.

[littlemissmartypants]

11. Thank you, Bearware.

Posts like yours are one of the many reasons why I love DU.

♡lmsp

[empedocles]

3. The word 'pathways' seems to growing in popularity among the nutrition types

[keithbvadu2]

4. Listening to your gut

http://assets.amuniversal.com/72e21d5084380135eeda005056a9545d

[lastlib]

5. Gives a whole new meaning to a "gut reaction," doesn't it?

n/t

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Certainly does, lastlib.

Even before I was aware of this information, I taught my niece we have three brains, head, heart and stomach and that she should consult all three when doing her decision making. I'd like to think that I contributed to her currently strong moral compass with that lesson. Thank you for the reply.

♡lmsp

[dweller]

9. or having a 'gut feeling' about something or someone

I have these, what I describe as a gut feeling, and as far as I can tell it does originate from my gut ... it's a bit hard to describe but it's like a mild tingling sensation that makes me ponder or reconsider an emotional reaction to a thing or person, or just reflect deeply to myself... like I say, hard to describe
I consider it an early warning signal
✌🏼️

[Nitram]

7. Actually, everything in our body is connected to the brain by nerves, I think they call that the

nervous system or something.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. Thanks for the reply, Nitram. ♡ eom

[Nitram]

12. Thanks for being amused.