microbiome, probiotics, depression and activity, aging, weight management, nucleic acids

• Oral, Capsulized, Frozen Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Relapsing Clostridium difficile Infection (2014)
  • “No serious adverse events attributed to [Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)] were observed. Resolution of diarrhea was achieved in 14 patients… after a single capsule-based FMT. All 6 nonresponders were re-treated; 4 had resolution of diarrhea, resulting in an overall 90%… rate of clinical resolution of diarrhea (18/20). Daily number of bowel movements decreased from a median of 5… the day prior to administration to 2… at day 3… and 1… at 8 weeks (P < .001). Self-ranked health scores improved significantly on a scale of 1 to 10 from a median of 5… for overall health and 4.5… for gastrointestinal-specific health on the day prior to FMT to 8… after FMT administration for both overall and gastrointestinal health…”
• The effect of rate of weight loss on long-term weight management: a randomised controlled trial (2014)
  • “The rate of weight loss does not affect the proportion of weight regained within 144 weeks.”
  • Australian study tracking weight loss using Optifast either for all meals (fast weight loss) or for 1-2 meals a day (slow weight loss). All participants regained the same amount of weight within 3 years once they resumed eating normally.
• MicroRNAs Are Absorbed in Biologically Meaningful Amounts from Nutritionally Relevant Doses of Cow Milk and Affect Gene Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells, HEK-293 Kidney Cell Cultures, and Mouse Livers (2014)
  • MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate genes in animals and plants and can be synthesized endogenously. In milk, miRNAs are encapsulated in exosomes, thereby conferring protection against degradation and facilitating uptake by endocytosis. The majority of bovine miRNAs have nucleotide sequences complementary to human gene transcripts, suggesting that miRNAs in milk might regulate human genes… We conclude that miRNAs in milk are bioactive food compounds that regulate human genes.”
• Depressive Symptoms and Physical Activity During 3 Decades in Adult Life (2014)
  • “We included approximately 11 000 cohort members with information on depressive symptoms or frequency of physical activity at 23, 33, 42, or 50 years of age…  Findings suggest that activity may alleviate depressive symptoms in the general population and, in turn, depressive symptoms in early adulthood may be a barrier to activity.”
• Cultured gut microbiota from twins discordant for obesity modulate adiposity and metabolic phenotypes in mice (2013)
  • “We transplanted fecal microbiota from adult female twin pairs discordant for obesity into germ-free mice fed low-fat mouse chow, as well as diets representing different levels of saturated fat and fruit and vegetable consumption typical of the USA. Increased total body and fat mass, as well as obesity-associated metabolic phenotypes were transmissible with uncultured fecal communities, and with their corresponding fecal bacterial culture collections… These findings reveal transmissible, rapid and modifiable effects of diet-by-microbiota interactions.”
• Aging as an Event of Proteostasis Collapse (2011)
  • “Aging cells accumulate damaged and misfolded proteins through a functional decline in their protein homeostasis (proteostasis) machinery, leading to reduced cellular viability and the development of protein misfolding diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s. Metabolic signaling pathways that regulate the aging process, mediated by insulin/IGF-1 signaling, dietary restriction, and reduced mitochondrial function, can modulate the proteostasis machinery in many ways to maintain a youthful proteome for longer and prevent the onset of age-associated diseases. These mechanisms therefore represent potential therapeutic targets in the prevention and treatment of such pathologies.”
• Accuracy of species identity of commercial bacterial cultures intended for probiotic or nutritional use. (2006)
  • “213 cultures of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and propionibacteria intended for probiotic or nutritional use were collected from 26 manufacturers of probiotic products, three international culture collections and one research institute… Upon reidentification, 46 cases of misidentification at the genus level(n=19) or species level (n=27) were recorded, including 34 commercial probiotic cultures deposited by 10 different companies. The finding that more than 28% of the commercial cultures intended for human and/or animal probiotic use were misidentified at the genus or species level suggests that many cases of probiotic product mislabeling originate from the incorporation of incorrectly identified strains.”
• Effects of peroxisome proliferators on the thymus and spleen of mice (2000)
  • “The effects of peroxisome proliferators on the immune system of male C57B1/6 mice have been investigated. Significant atrophy of the thymus and spleen was observed in animals treated with potent peroxisome proliferators… Interestingly, in vitro exposure to PFOA for up to 24 h did not produce analogous effects in either thymocytes or splenocytes. Thus, the thymic and splenic atrophy caused by PFOA appears to involve an indirect pathway.”