Gut Microbiota, Immune System, And Neurological Disorders

An interesting review article from earlier this year focuses attention on the interplay between gut microbiota, the immune system, and neurological health. The abstract:
 

The diverse collection of microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract, collectively called the gut microbiota, profoundly influences many aspects of host physiology, including nutrient metabolism, resistance to infection and immune system development. Studies investigating the gut-brain axis demonstrate a critical role for the gut microbiota in orchestrating brain development and behavior, and the immune system is emerging as an important regulator of these interactions. Intestinal microbes modulate the maturation and function of tissue-resident immune cells in the CNS. Microbes also influence the activation of peripheral immune cells, which regulate responses to neuroinflammation, brain injury, autoimmunity and neurogenesis. Accordingly, both the gut microbiota and immune system are implicated in the etiopathogenesis or manifestation of neurodevelopmental, psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, such as autism spectrum disorder, depression and Alzheimer's disease. In this review, we discuss the role of CNS-resident and peripheral immune pathways in microbiota-gut-brain communication during health and neurological disease.

Note: “autism spectrum disorder, depression and Alzheimer's disease.” Likely, going forward, modulation of gut microbiota by diet and/or consumption of active cultures (e.g., in pill form) may be one tool in the arsenal of approaches against these and other neurological disorders.

The eternal evil

Approximately ten years ago I read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. 

It is a thriller and a gothic novel at the same time, and it weaves in the threads of the ancient European history.

Ten years ago I could not put the book down, it was so addictive and overpowering. However, when I was done with it, I searched in vain for the main message.

The book focuses on the eternal evil in the world. 

In the story, the evil takes the shape of Vlad the Impaler (Drakula), who is still around us, with us and has plans for us. The resistance against, and the victory over, the evil takes years, costs the lives of many, and extracts the last drop of dedication and strength from the main characters. But all of this struggle was lost on me. The eternal evil did not exist around me or even in my mind.

Recently, I re-read the book. Why? Finally, in my life a collided with the evil. No, it was not in the shape and form of Drakula, it was just a regular looking guy at my job, who wrecked our work community, demolished the careers of many colleagues, ousted them from their positions, and tried to do the same to me. 

I finally stared at the face of evil. A vague and depressed feeling of despair and fatality pushed me to take The Historian from the shelve and read it again.

This time, I read the book slowly. I truly enjoyed the cinematographic quality of the narrative, the tours through some of the most picturesque and some of the most obscure places in Europe. I also relived the horror of the characters, who for the first time realized that evil existed.

Finally, a message emerged.  The message was to accept that evil exists and that even when the struggle with evil is unequal and unfair, I should carry it on and defend my identity and dignity. 

Once I read that a true art elicits individual interpretations. The same book or drawing, if true art, would elicit different thoughts, emotions and associations in different people. 

The message I received from The Historian is likely to be a very personal one, but I hope that if you read the book, you will discover your own.

Weekend cooking: Eggplant stew and potato salad

 



Today’s recipe was inspired by having eggplants and potatoes on sale in the local supermarket. I also had some green garlic growing in my backyard (by the way, the garlic is the only edible by humans item,  everything else is devoured by the animals). 

Eggplant Stew

You will need:
3-4 Tbsp of olive or canola oil for cooking
1 big eggplant, peeled, cut into slices of 1/3 inch thickness
2 cans diced tomatoes (15 oz each)
2 medium size onions, peeled and sliced in wedges of 1/3 inch thickness
several garlic cloves, peeled and cut
parsley, washed and cut
5-6 red peppers, baked, peeled, cut into smaller pieces (optional)
salt, paprika, hot pepper flakes

Instructions:
Salt the eggplant and leave it to release some of its bitter liquid (I arrange the slices on a tilted platform to collect the liquid in the opposite direction of the eggplant). Squeeze the liquid out and fry to soften. Remove onto a paper towel to soak the excess oil. In a pot, heat some oil, and soften the onions and the garlic. Add the tomatoes and 15 oz of water. Bring to boil and simmer until garlic and onion are cooked (soft). Add the eggplant and if you have, a few red peppers. Simmer for five minutes, add the parsley. Turn off the heat and season with the spices. 

Potato salad

You will need:

potatoes (10-12 medium size), peeled and cut into chunks

one can of corn (liquid removed)

several stalks of green garlic (washed and cut thinly)

one medium size onion (chopped thinly)

apple cider vinegar, salt and olive oil to taste

Instructions:

Boil the potatoes to soft. In a bowl, "massage" the onion with salt until it starts releasing its liquid (this procedure decreases the sharp taste). Mix the potatoes, onions and the rest of the ingredients. Season to taste and enjoy.  

Spring Garden: April, 2017

I did not know I had a bluebell in the garden! It just appeared out of nowhere in my backyard.

These last only a few days. I wished I could sleep under them.

They are fragrant too!

The voracious animals in my garden spared exactly two tulips this year. Let's see how long the flowers will last. I had a collection of magnificent tulips in the past, but all were eaten by the Zoo members in my yard.

I did not even have to plant these.

Almost like a ballerina. Have you read Andersen's Little Ida's flowers? I believe the ball is starting in my garden.

TV Viewing Increases Physical Frailty In The Elderly

By Wags05 at English Wikipedia - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43906515

A study was performed to determine whether the time spent watching television was associated with increased physical frailty in older individuals.

The background/objective from the abstract:

Sedentariness is an important risk factor for poor health. The main objective of this work was to examine the prospective association between television viewing time and indicators of physical function, mobility, agility, and frailty.

And the conclusions from the abstract:

Among older adults, longer television viewing time is prospectively associated with limitations in physical function independently of physical activity.

So, it would seem sitting watching television is a particularly pernicious form of inactivity that causes decreased physical function, at least in the older individuals studied.  Perhaps because watching television is such a passive experience (for example, reading a book may be physically passive but at least the mind is being used) it has such a negative impact. Get off the couch and start doing something.

The Affordable Care Act

Wikipedia page.  Author:  Pete Souza.

For anyone interested in the Affordable Care Act, this post will be highly relevant.

I hope that one day I will be a "semi-early" retiree 😀, so I was quiet grateful to read the comprehensive review compiled by a specialist.

I hope this is helpful to you as well, reader.

British obsession with gardens

I just discovered Britain's Best Back Gardens on YouTube. It is an introduction to the wild range of British obsessions with gardens, flowers, and lawns. 

I enjoyed watching the documentary this rainy Saturday afternoon. My Spring garden was off limits with the rain and low temperatures, so I satisfied my own garden obsession by soaking in the gorgeous views from England. 

Fat, Leptin, Mice, And Colon Cancer

By The original uploader was Bigplankton at English Wikipedia Later versions were uploaded by Sunholm at en.wikipedia. - Human Genome wall for SC99 on ornl.gov. Copied from en.wikipedia; description page is/was here., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1777620 

This study used mice that model colon cancer induced by azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium. 

The mice were fed a regular diet or a high-fat diet (HFD), and the researchers found that the HFD-fed mice had more colon inflammation, more tumors, and different gene expression compared to regular-diet mice.  

Some of the changes in the HFD mouse colon were similar to these found in human colon cancer, particularly colon cancer with inflammatory microsatellite instability.  

Leptin and Wnt signaling were altered in the HFD mice, and such alterations are also associated with colon cancer. Upregulation of the leptin pathway is associated with worse overall survival; whereas, Wnt signaling deregulation is often the initiating step in the development of colon cancer.

Taking into account the similarities to the human colon cancer, the importance of diet becomes clear.

Lessons from a few great people

I have not prepared a post for this week.  The situation at my job is hellish and it extracts the soul out of my body.  Exactly like the dementors in the Harry Potter books.
 
Instead of writing something on my own, I would like to share a few great posts written by Cory Galbraith.

If you read the first post, Get Paid What You're Worth: Advice from the 4 foot Mathematician, at the end of it, you will be able to access other posts by the same author.
 
They are all good stories. It is sad, however, that history repeats itself, but we never learn its lessons.

Weekend cooking: Easter bread

This is the Easter breakfast of my childhood: hot cocoa, sweet Easter bread, dyed eggs, and a few pieces of cheese.

Back then, to prepare the breakfast we would drop by the local bakery and buy a magnificent huge loaf of Easter bread. Today, there is no bakery in sight! So this year, I downloaded several recipes from Internet, and braced myself to bake my own Easter bread version. Of course, I introduced a few quirks in the recipe.

Easter bread
You need:
a pinch of salt, 1 lemon, (for its zest)
2 Tbsp rum (any)
2 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup of raisins (optional)
1 packet of dry yeast
1 cup of milk (room temperature)
3/4 cup of sugar
4 eggs (save one yolk to brush on top of the bread)
1/2 cup olive oil
4 1/2 cups of flour (I use 1:1 white to whole wheat flour)
 
For the glaze:
1 yolk
1 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp olive oil
 
Sprinkle:
2 Tbsp crystal sugar

Instructions:
Dissolve the yeast in the milk with a teaspoon of sugar. Leave for a few minutes to re-hydrate the yeast. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Separately, mix the eggs with the sugar until well combined (I use a fork to vigorously beat the eggs). Add the yeast, oil, rum, vanilla, lemon zest, and raisins.

Make a well in the flour and pour the egg/sugar in. Slowly start incorporating the flour with the liquid (by hand). The dough will be soft. Make sure that the bowl has flour on the bottom, under the dough. Cover with saran wrap and a kitchen towel. Leave to rise for four hours (I leave the dough on top of the fridge, where it is warmer). Mix the three ingredients for the glazing, and store in the fridge until use.

Separate the dough into three parts, shape into long strips and braid them on top of a cookie sheet that has been oil-sprayed and floured. If the dough braid is long enough, make a circle out of it. You could also separate the dough into five to six balls, and then combine them into a dome-like structure. The shape of the bread depends upon your preferences. Cover the shaped bread again, and let it rise for at least another 30 minutes. Before baking, brush the bread with the glaze and sprinkle with crystal sugar. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.

Verdict: The bread was delightful, fragrant, and not too sweet. If you want it to rise more, use only white flour. 

What else was for Easter?  I made the stuffed chicken again. 

On Easter morning, we had an early breakfast with an introduction played by our vintage Easter bunny (see below), and egg "fights", in which we established whose egg was the strongest.

Our vintage Easter bunny-egg.