Submitted via IRC for Bytram
The study appeared Aug. 28, 2019, in the American Journal of Physiology.
Lead author Dr. Jasmohan Bajaj says the findings add to the substantial evidence linking gut health and brain function. He says they offer particular hope for people with PTSD and cirrhosis -- a common combination in the VA patient population.
"There is room for improvement in terms of the response to current therapies for PTSD," he says. "Targeting the gut microbiota might be an effective way to address the altered gut-brain axis in these patients and improve cognitive function, as well as other parameters of mental and physical health."
Bajaj is a physician-researcher with the McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, is prevalent in veterans with PTSD. Common causes include alcohol use disorder, obesity, and hepatitis C. Some patients with cirrhosis develop a complication called hepatic encephalopathy, which affects brain function. They become mentally sluggish and confused, and in severe cases can even lose consciousness.
PTSD, for its part, can also impair cognition. This can occur whether or not patients are taking drugs, such as antidepressants or sedatives, that act on the brain.
The researchers wanted to tease out the impact of abnormal gut microbiota in these conditions, and see whether those with cirrhosis and PTSD had different gut profiles than those with cirrhosis but no PTSD.
Bajaj's team took stool samples from 93 male veterans with cirrhosis, about a third of whom had combat-related PTSD. The other men had been exposed to combat during their military service but had not developed PTSD.
All the veterans completed a battery of cognitive exams. The tests covered areas such as reaction time, spatial ability, memory, and problem-solving.
Compared with the non-PTSD group, the men with PTSD had poorer cognitive performance.
Those with PTSD had microbiota that were less diverse, meaning they had fewer types of bacteria overall. This was true even after the researchers controlled for severity of cirrhosis, prior episodes of hepatic encephalopathy, alcohol use, and psychotropic medication use.
Journal Reference:
Jasmohan Singh Bajaj, et. al.. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is Associated with Altered Gut Microbiota that Modulates Cognitive Performance in Veterans with Cirrhosis. American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, 2019; DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00194.2019
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 26 2019, @06:22PM (2 children)
You mean the ones that like alcohol?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 26 2019, @06:55PM (1 child)
Did you even bother to the summary, much less RTFA.
Just have a look at the last sentence in the summary.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 26 2019, @08:23PM
Bother to the what?
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Thursday September 26 2019, @08:47PM (4 children)
So... gut bacteria are heavily influenced by what you eat. Like incredibly much. And how much you exercise. And a number of other things that are very important for cognition and mental health that the summary doesn't mention controlling for.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by qzm on Thursday September 26 2019, @09:14PM (1 child)
Their whole path of thinking seems to start and end with Cirrhosis of the liver.
This smells a lot like they are trying to find a way to blame anything other than excessive alcohol consumption for these brain issues.
Vets with PTSD would be quite obviously often heavy drinkers - kind of 'goes with the territory', so....
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday September 27 2019, @09:53AM
Repeat:
Hypothesis = (select random from demographics)
with (select random from mental condition)
and (select random from disease)
have (select greater or lower)
(select test from vaguely measurable metrics);
Test Hypothesis;
Until (p<0.05);
I think it's the green jelly beans that are the cause.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Friday September 27 2019, @04:51AM
Personally I blame MREs. Mostly empty calories with no real nutritional value.
"It is easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they have been fooled" Mark Twain
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 27 2019, @04:55AM
Not to mention masturbation, which could lead to all kinds of problems.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 26 2019, @10:25PM (1 child)
He didn't drink to excess, shoot people, whine about PTSD or any of the other things these fairy millennial vets seem to do.
(Score: 1) by CheesyMoo on Friday September 27 2019, @03:19PM
Was in the Pacific or European theaters? Or was he shovelin shit in Louisianna?
Warfare since the gulf war, this anti-insurgency shit, is a whole different ball game than shoving a boot up Gerry's ass.