Gut bacteria may change after severe injury

After a severe traumatic injury, the composition of a patient's intestinal bacteria changes and this could affects patient's prognosis. The gut microbiome experiences a depletion in the presence of some bacteria and an increase in the presence of others came from a small investigation, involving critically injured adults.

Stool samples were collected from each person three times: when they were admitted to the hospital, and then 24 and 72 hours later. The samples were compared with those from 10 other patients who had not sustained traumatic injury.

Samples taken at the time of admission were similar in both groups. But within 24 hours, differences started to show, the investigators found. By 72 hours, three types of bacteria were depleted in the traumatic injury group, relative to the non-injury group, and the levels of two other types of bacteria had risen.

Rapid alterations in intestinal microbiota represent a critical and unrecognized phenomenon that may influence clinical course and outcomes after severe trauma. The intestinal bacterial composition could in some way be critical to patient outcomes after a traumatic injury. This could create the way towards interventions, such as administering probiotic regimens that might improve patient outcomes after injury.
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Oral bacteria contributing to bowel disorders

An international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests certain types of oral bacteria may cause or exacerbate bowel disorders. Bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are more than just a nuisance, they can cause serious degradation to quality of life, and in some cases, can even be deadly.

Finding a link between bacteria that live in the mouth and common bowel disorders could show the association between oral bacteria and bowel disorders. Patients with one of the three main types of bowel disorders also had higher than normal levels of oral bacteria in their feces, suggesting higher levels in their guts. Suspecting there may be a link, researchers conducted several experiments to learn more about the connection between the two types of bacteria.

In the first experiment, the researchers introduced human saliva from people with Crohn's disease into the guts of mice with a sterilized gut microbiome. A closer look revealed the bacteria responsible for the inflammation was Klebsiella pneumoniae, a strain commonly found in the human mouth, but seldom in the gut.

In another experiment, the researchers introduced the bacteria directly into the intestines of healthy mice and found it caused no problems. Giving the mice Klebsiella-resistant antibiotics once again caused inflammation when Klebsiella was introduced. Other experiments with saliva from colitis patients offered similar results. There may be a link between the oral bacteria and bowel disorders.
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Imbalanced gut microbiome linked to systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by a vasculopathy, diffuse fibrosis skin and various internal organs such as kidneys, heart, lungs and gastrointestinal tract.

People with systemic sclerosis had higher levels of bacteria that can cause inflammation and lower levels of bacteria that can protect.

Previous University of California Los Angeles UCLA-led research detailed a link between the disease and the imbalance in the gut microbiome and suggested that this imbalance contributed to scleroderma's symptoms.

The researchers studied 17 adults with systemic sclerosis from UCLA, 17 from Oslo University Hospital, and 17 healthy adults as the control group. All participants provided stool specimens, which the researchers tested to determine the type and abundance of specific bacteria present.

The people with systemic sclerosis had significantly lower levels of gut bacteria believed to protect against inflammation, such as Bacteroides (UCLA and Oslo), Faecalibacterium (UCLA) and Clostridium (Oslo).

They also had significantly higher levels of bacteria that promote inflammation, such as Fusobacterium (UCLA), compared with those in the control group.

 Increased levels of Clostridium was associated with less severe gastrointestinal tract symptoms in the groups of people with systemic sclerosis from UCLA and Oslo.

The findings may help to shed light on the cause of systemic sclerosis. They also suggest that restoring gut bacterial balance though diet modification, probiotics and possibly fecal transplantation may reduce gastrointestinal symptoms and improve quality of life in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Vigorous exercise increases health risks

Vigorous exercise for a long period of time can change the composition of gut bacteria.

The research looked at soldiers taking part in an intensive training programme and found that pro-longed exercise caused the protective barrier in their guts to become permeable and triggered leaky gut syndrome.

Gut health and overall health are linked, intense physiological stress could raise the risks of many types of illnesses.

 Poor gut health is linked to conditions ranging from irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, obesity, childhood asthma, colitis and colon cancer.

The study is the first to investigate the response of gut microbiome - the term for the population of microbes in the intestine - during military training.

It looked at a group of 73 Norwegian Army soldiers taking part in a military-style cross country skiing training programme.

The group skied 31 miles (51 km) while carrying 99-pound (45 kg) packs, across four days. Before and after the training
exercise, researchers collected blood and stool samples from the soldiers.

It was found that the microbiome and metabolites - the substance formed in or necessary for metabolism - in the soldiers' blood and stool altered 'significantly' by the end of the aggressive training period.

Furthermore, sucralose excretion in their urine samples rose considerably, indicating an increase in intestinal permeability (IP).

Scientists know that healthy intestines have a semi-permeable barrier, which acts as a defense to keep bacteria and other harmful substances out, while allowing healthy nutrients into the bloodstream.