From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   Bacteria, gut organisms linked to health, autism, schizophrenia, depression,   
   diabetes, allergies and obesity   
      
   By Xavier La Canna   
   October 25, 2014, 1:37 pm   
      
      
      
   Bacteria, gut organisms linked to health, autism, schizophrenia, depression,   
   diabetes, allergies and obesity   
      
   They may have the power to alter your thoughts, your behaviour, how well you   
   feel or influence why you can't shed those unwanted kilos.   
      
   They outnumber us 100 trillion to one and they know you intimately.   
      
   The number of bacteria and other organisms in the human gut, known   
   collectively as microbiota, are thought to be approximately 10 times more   
   numerous than the entire number of cells in the body and scientists are only   
   just starting to unlock the secrets    
   of how they affect us.   
      
   As the world of gut bacteria and other microscopic organisms in our bodies   
   begins to be explored it turns out the organisms are weirder than anyone   
   thought possible.   
      
   They have been described as an organ of the body in their own right, and could   
   hold the key to preventing or treating obesity, asthma, diabetes, autism or   
   schizophrenia.   
      
   Some bacteria's impact is undisputed. Escheria coli, better known as E.coli,   
   is known to cause food poisoning and is largely transmitted when people   
   inadvertently swallow faeces that contain it.   
      
   But the jury is still out for how other microbiota effect people.   
      
   While bacteria have evolved to live in humans, the human body has also evolved   
   to cater to the bacteria and other organisms living within us.   
      
   In some cases it almost seems that humans appear to be willing zombies,   
   catering to the whims of the visitors in our intestines.   
      
   Mice unafraid of cats   
   In animal studies the evidence is intriguing.   
      
   If mice are treated with an intestinal parasite called toxoplasma the rodents   
   lose their fear of cats.   
      
   Toxoplasma needs to reproduce inside the guts of felines, and these tiny   
   organisms somehow can alter the mice's behaviour.   
      
   Normally fearful of cat smell, they become attracted to cats, even displaying   
   the same behaviours if they are treated to remove the parasites, suggesting   
   they permanently change the animals' brains.   
      
   Some humans also have toxoplasma in their gut and studies are underway to see   
   whether they can influence our actions, too.   
      
   In people toxoplasma have been linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,   
   although the jury is still out on whether the parasite is a symptom or a cause   
   of the problems.   
      
   The insect world is not immune to the influence of micro-organisms, either.   
      
   Jungle-dwelling turtle ants are known to act oddly when a particular nematode   
   enters them.   
      
   The ants' rear turns red, and the creatures go to tree tops where they wave   
   their abdomen around.   
      
   Birds, apparently attracted to what they think is a shiny fruit, eat the ants,   
   leaving the nematodes to complete their life cycle, which must occur inside   
   birds.   
      
   Cause of 'Western diseases'?   
   Professor Charles Mackay from Sydney University is a medical researcher with   
   35 years' experience and he believes gut microbiota may hold the key to   
   unlocking most so-called Western lifestyle diseases.   
      
   "When you look at almost any condition that exists now that didn't exist 40 or   
   50 years ago, or was much less common 40 or 50 years ago, there is a good   
   chance that it is relating to the actions of the gut microbiota," Professor   
   Mackay said.   
      
   "I would include in that list food allergies, asthma, type one and type two   
   diabetes, obesity and possibly autism and a few other things.   
      
   "That is what I think is likely although some of that is not yet fully   
   established, but that is how things are shaping up," he said.   
      
   He said some cancers, including colon cancer, may also be impacted by people's   
   intestinal flora, and conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease.   
      
   Professor Mackay said the course of study could have a bigger impact on human   
   health than any other medical breakthrough for 30 or 40 years.   
      
   "This is a revolution in human medicine," he said.   
      
   He said the study is still an evolving field, but one that is causing an   
   explosion in interest.   
      
   Professor Mackay explained the rationale behind how bacteria could be   
   impacting on so many different parts of the human body.   
      
   "There are these trillions of bacteria in our gut that are pouring out   
   molecules because they serve a function in our gut to digest fibre and do a   
   whole lot of other things, and produce metabolites.   
      
   "These metabolites they can enter the blood and go all over the body.   
      
   "A bacteria that might infect your gut could be producing some molecule, maybe   
   a common one, or a less common one, that has some fundamental role on a distal   
   cell, maybe a nerve cell or another type of cell for another disease that is   
   profoundly    
   affecting its function, or adversely affecting its function," he said.   
      
   Trouble losing weight? Some bacteria like sugars and other like fats.   
      
   Professor Mackay said such links are interesting, but no proof has yet been   
   found to show unhealthy cravings are determined by gut bacteria.   
      
   A major US study known as the Human Microbiome Project has tried to identify   
   micro-organisms associated with both healthy and unhealthy people.   
      
   The study has already shown that microbes contribute more genes responsible   
   for people's survival than humans' own genes, and that there are more than   
   10,000 microbial species in the human ecosystem.   
      
   Hitting back   
   While bacteria can negatively impact on the body, possibly even controlling   
   thoughts, the good news is that they also offer ways to help people, and   
   studies have shown that bacteria levels can be manipulated to make people   
   healthier.   
      
   PhD student at Queensland University Megan Rossi conducted her thesis into   
   links between gut bacteria and kidney disease.   
      
   She found that loading up kidney disease patients with good bacteria, known as   
   pro-biotics, and healthy food for the bacteria to live in, known as   
   pre-biotics, helped the patients.   
      
   "Compared to placebos the pre and pro-biotics were able to inhibit the   
   production of those harmful toxins, resulting in a significant decrease in   
   their blood concentration," Ms Rossi said earlier this year.   
      
   "Further none of the patients reported any adverse side-effects, nor did it   
   impact on the quality of their lives."   
      
   But before you go loading up with pro-biotic capsules from the chemist or good   
   bacteria drinks for sale in supermarkets, beware that they are only part of   
   the solution.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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