1.
Influence of diet on the gut microbiome and implications for human health.
Singh, RK, Chang, HW, Yan, D, Lee, KM, Ucmak, D, Wong, K, Abrouk, M, Farahnik, B, Nakamura, M, Zhu, TH, et al
Journal of translational medicine. 2017;15(1):73
-
-
-
Free full text
Plain language summary
Gut microbiome plays an important role in modulating the risk of many chronic diseases through its impact on host immunity and metabolic health. Diet, in turn, can alter the composition of the microbiota. This paper reviewed current understanding of the effects of common dietary components and three select diets on gut microbiota composition and host health. Dietary components included plant and animal protein, saturated and unsaturated fats, digestible and non-digestible carbohydrates, probiotics and polyphenols. The diets included Western diet, gluten-free diet and Mediterranean diet. Based on the reviewed papers, the authors concluded that diet can modify the intestinal microbiome, which in turn has a profound impact on overall health. The impact can be beneficial or detrimental, depending on the abundance and identity of microbial populations and the nature of their interactions with the host. The authors also state that further research using large, long-term clinical trials to evaluate a greater variety of food components would be helpful in making specific dietary recommendations to patients.
Abstract
Recent studies have suggested that the intestinal microbiome plays an important role in modulating risk of several chronic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. At the same time, it is now understood that diet plays a significant role in shaping the microbiome, with experiments showing that dietary alterations can induce large, temporary microbial shifts within 24 h. Given this association, there may be significant therapeutic utility in altering microbial composition through diet. This review systematically evaluates current data regarding the effects of several common dietary components on intestinal microbiota. We show that consumption of particular types of food produces predictable shifts in existing host bacterial genera. Furthermore, the identity of these bacteria affects host immune and metabolic parameters, with broad implications for human health. Familiarity with these associations will be of tremendous use to the practitioner as well as the patient.
2.
Reversal of cognitive decline: a novel therapeutic program.
Bredesen, DE
Aging. 2014;6(9):707-17
-
-
-
Free full text
Plain language summary
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is estimated to affect 30 million individuals globally, with projections as high as 150 million by 2050 if no effective treatment is found. This report describes a personalised, multi-modal, therapeutic programme used with 10 individuals with various degrees of cognitive decline. The goal was to optimise metabolic parameters and lifestyle factors and was personalised based on laboratory test results. 9 out of 10 of the case study patients experienced improvement in cognitive abilities, beginning within 3-6 months of starting the programme. These effects were sustained at 2.5 year follow up. The 1 patient who did not benefit had advanced AD, in comparison to the other patients with subjective or mild cognitive decline. The authors call for a more extensive trial of the therapeutic programme.
Abstract
This report describes a novel, comprehensive, and personalized therapeutic program that is based on the underlying pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, and which involves multiple modalities designed to achieve metabolic enhancement for neurodegeneration (MEND). The first 10 patients who have utilized this program include patients with memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), or subjective cognitive impairment (SCI). Nine of the 10 displayed subjective or objective improvement in cognition beginning within 3-6 months, with the one failure being a patient with very late stage AD. Six of the patients had had to discontinue working or were struggling with their jobs at the time of presentation, and all were able to return to work or continue working with improved performance. Improvements have been sustained, and at this time the longest patient follow-up is two and one-half years from initial treatment, with sustained and marked improvement. These results suggest that a larger, more extensive trial of this therapeutic program is warranted. The results also suggest that, at least early in the course, cognitive decline may be driven in large part by metabolic processes. Furthermore, given the failure of monotherapeutics in AD to date, the results raise the possibility that such a therapeutic system may be useful as a platform on which drugs that would fail as monotherapeutics may succeed as key components of a therapeutic system.