Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Alcohol-producing gut bacteria could cause liver damage even in people who don't drink
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the build-up of fat in the liver due to factors other than alcohol. It affects about a quarter of the adult population globally, but its cause remains unknown. Now, researchers have linked NAFLD to gut bacteria that produce a large amount of alcohol in the body, finding these bacteria in over 60% of non-alcoholic fatty liver patients. Their findings, publishing September 19 in the journal Cell Metabolism, could help develop a screening method for early diagnosis and treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver.
"We were surprised that bacteria can produce so much alcohol," says lead author Jing Yuan at Capital Institute of Pediatrics. "When the body is overloaded and can't break down the alcohol produced by these bacteria, you can develop fatty liver disease even if you don't drink."
Yuan and her team discovered the link between gut bacteria and NAFLD when they encountered a patient with severe liver damage and a rare condition called auto-brewery syndrome (ABS). Patients with ABS would become drunk after eating alcohol-free and high-sugar food. The condition has been associated with yeast infection, which can produce alcohol in the gut and lead to intoxication.
"We initially thought it was because of the yeast, but the test result for this patient was negative," Yuan says. "Anti-yeast medicine also didn't work, so we suspected [his disease] might be caused by something else."
By analyzing the patient's feces, the team found he had several strains of the bacteria Klebsiella pneumonia in his gut that produced high levels of alcohol. K. pneumonia is a common type of commensal gut bacteria. Yet, the strains isolated from the patient's gut can generate about four to six times more alcohol than strains found in healthy people.
Moreover, the team sampled the gut microbiota from 43 NAFLD patients and 48 healthy people. They found about 60% of NAFLD patients had high- and medium-alcohol-producing K. pneumonia in their gut, while only 6% of healthy controls carry these strains.
Jing Yuan, et. al. Fatty Liver Disease Caused by High-Alcohol-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae. Cell Metabolism, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.08.018
(Score: 5, Interesting) by VLM on Friday September 20 2019, @11:09AM (3 children)
Interesting hypothesis to consider: Possibly, some of the benefits that some people sometimes get from a low carb diet are essentially the same as cutting out a low continuous alcohol dose.
You read a lot of reports of "oh, I have more energy" "Suddenly I can think more clearly" "Fewer headaches" and combine that with casual reports of the "keto flu" feeling like a couple days of light withdrawl syndromes... they're not withdrawing from sucrose they're withdrawing from constant low dose alcohol...
Just an interesting idea to consider.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 20 2019, @12:12PM
This is also possibly the reason china is rich but Induana is poor.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 20 2019, @02:45PM (1 child)
I had a friend growing up that couldn't drink Coke. If she had one she would behave like she was drunk. Now I wonder if this was in play in her gut and she really was drunk after a dose of dark sugar water. Very interesting.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 21 2019, @05:11AM
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday September 20 2019, @11:44AM (2 children)
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the build-up of fat in the liver due to factors other than alcohol. It affects about a quarter of the adult population globally, but its cause remains unknown. Now, researchers have linked NAFLD to gut bacteria that produce a large amount of alcohol in the body
So it *is* regular alcohol-linked liver disease, entirely due to alcohol - only the alcohol is endogenous, not exogenous.
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Friday September 20 2019, @12:24PM
That seems to be medical jargon as in: As from the anamnesis, the patient does not consume alcohol. There are biomarkers for drinking though and I am wondering whether these bacteria can slip under those radars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 20 2019, @05:49PM
The non-alcoholic part of the name refers to the patient, not the syndrome itself. To be more concise, they should have said "due to factors other than excessive alcohol intake".
(Score: 4, Funny) by acid andy on Friday September 20 2019, @12:41PM (2 children)
I think I need one that produces caffeine inside my gut.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday September 20 2019, @04:40PM (1 child)
Such a species of gut bacteria would definitely be patented. Then marketing would concoct some horrific brand name.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Friday September 20 2019, @05:06PM
Pro-coffeeotic™ Top up your friendly 'feines NOW!
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Rupert Pupnick on Friday September 20 2019, @01:07PM (3 children)
If the hypothesis is that alcohol is going from the gut to the liver, then it should show up in a blood test as it would when you drink normally. Have they established a correlation between a high "resting" BAL and non-drinking patients with NAFLD?
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday September 20 2019, @01:58PM (2 children)
Maybe a breathalyzer could show it?
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Friday September 20 2019, @05:33PM (1 child)
yes I think we had a story a while back about someone with ABS fighting a DUI
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday September 20 2019, @05:37PM
The problem with ABS is that your BAC level will vary with diet... and a jury of your peers (and most judges) are going to think you and your doctor are making it up.
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