A Small (Micro) Advance to Combat Stroke

It's possible that the bacteria in our gut has a say in how well we survive and recover from stroke which is just remarkable. I agree. It just keeps amazing me how integral our microbiome is to our health. These are the bacteria, viruses and fungi in and on us.

What this study tells us is that as we age, one of two major groups of bacteria in our gut increases, the Firmicutes. This increase has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. So, here's a case where our small friends can hurt us.

After a stroke, inflammation occurs because immune cells from across the body, including the gut, migrate to the damaged brain tissues. The gut is actually the second largest source of immune cells in the body. Here's something you may not know. These immune cells release chemicals that enhance the inflammation and that contributes to the brain damage after stroke.

What researchers discovered is when they transferred gut microbiome from young mice to aged mice and induced stroke in the aged mice, fewer died and others healed more quickly. That's because there were fewer of the immune cells that cause inflammation present.

Next, the study will focus on learning whether the aged microbiome produces harmful chemicals that damages brain tissue or whether the young microbiome produces a protective chemical. Learning how this works could mean harnessing our microbe friends to help us manage stroke so that it will no longer be the fifth leading cause of death in the US.