Lower plasma concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in patients with ADHD

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), produced during bacterial fermentation, have been shown to be mediators in the microbiota-gut-brain axis. This axis has been proposed to influence psychiatric symptoms seen in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, there is no report of plasma SCFA concentrations in ADHD. The aim of this study was to explore the plasma concentrations of SCFAs in children and adults with ADHD and the possible factors that could influence those levels. We collected data on age group, sex, serum vitamin D levels, delivery mode, body mass index, diet, medication and blood samples from 233 ADHD patients and 36 family-related healthy controls. The concentrations of SCFAs and the intermediary metabolite succinic acid, were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Adults with ADHD had lower plasma concentrations of formic, acetic, propionic and succinic acid than their healthy family members. When adjusting for SCFA-influential factors among those with ADHD, children had lower concentrations of formic, propionic and isovaleric acid than adults, and those who had more antibiotic medications during the last 2 years had lower concentrations of formic, propionic and succinic acid. When adjusting for antibiotic medication, we found that among children, those currently on stimulant medication had lower acetic and propionic acid levels, and adults with ADHD had lower formic and propionic acid concentrations than adult healthy family members. In all, our findings show lower-than-normal plasma concentrations of SCFAs in ADHD explained in-part by antibiotic medication, age and stimulant medication. Whether or not this is of clinical significance is yet to be explored

Tarmläkande kost - framtidens medicin?

Bakterierna i våra tarmar spelar stor roll för vår hälsa och har visat sig påverka utvecklingen av flertalet kroniska sjukdomar med både en ökad permeabilitet i tarmväggen och dysbios som kliniska fynd.  Med kost som verktyg kan vi snabbt själva påverka vår tarmflora; både dess innehåll och dess funktion. Två kostprogram som bygger på tarmens koppling till ohälsa och sjukdom är Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) och Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS). Många studier har visat att SCD är effektiv som del av behandling av inflammatorisk tarmsjukdom. GAPS grundar sig i mikrobiota-tarm-hjärnaxeln där tarmfloran har visat sig påverka neuropsykiatriska sjukdomar, hjärnan och vårt beteende. Fler större kliniska studier behövs, men utan direkta biverkningar av en kostförändring: har vi ett framtida behandlingskomplement rakt framför våra fötter

Den medicinska matrevolutionen

Charmen med tarmen av Giulia Enders är en uppmärksammad bok som kom ut år 2014 i Tyskland. I den hävdar författaren att det medicinska paradigmskiftet, d.v.s. ett nytt synsätt, eller den medicinska revolution som vi ser just nu inleddes år 2011. Det var då som kunskapen om tarmbakteriernas betydelse för vår hälsa började växa till. Susan V. Lynch vid University of California är en forskare som redovisar samma berättelse i ett föredrag med titeln The Microbiome: A New Frontier in Health på Youtube, och där setts av mer än 900 000 tittare.Fokus för detta temanummer är att redovisa kostens och tarmbakteriernas betydelse för hälsa och sjuklighet. Vad vet vi idag om betydelsen av kost för sjukdomar som irritabel tarm (IBS) och inflammatorisk tarmsjukdom (IBD), reumatism och andra sjukdomar. Vad vet vi idag om samspelet mellan kost, tarmen och dess bakterier och hjärnan och dess funktioner? Är kosten av betydelse för ADHD, eller personer som diagnosticerats inom autismspektrat? Kan kost reducera symtom och t.o.m. skapa symtomfrihet för diabetiker? Vad är i detta perspektiv läkande kost? Vad är probiotika och vad kan det göra för nytta? Vad betyder ätandet för välbefinnande och hälsa? Syftet med detta temanummer är att spegla aktuellt forskningsläge och ge svar på några av ovan frågor. Vi vill belysa det paradigmskifte eller ”Medicinska revolution” som just nu äger rum, med mängder av ny kunskap som publiceras i vetenskapliga tidskrifter, där fokus är kopplingen mellan den mat vi äter, tarmfloran av bakterier/ mikrober och olika sjukdomar

Post-anaesthesia pulmonary complications after use of muscle relaxants (POPULAR): a multicentre, prospective observational study

Background Results from retrospective studies suggest that use of neuromuscular blocking agents during general anaesthesia might be linked to postoperative pulmonary complications. We therefore aimed to assess whether the use of neuromuscular blocking agents is associated with postoperative pulmonary complications. Methods We did a multicentre, prospective observational cohort study. Patients were recruited from 211 hospitals in 28 European countries. We included patients (aged ≥18 years) who received general anaesthesia for any in-hospital procedure except cardiac surgery. Patient characteristics, surgical and anaesthetic details, and chart review at discharge were prospectively collected over 2 weeks. Additionally, each patient underwent postoperative physical examination within 3 days of surgery to check for adverse pulmonary events. The study outcome was the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications from the end of surgery up to postoperative day 28. Logistic regression analyses were adjusted for surgical factors and patients’ preoperative physical status, providing adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) and adjusted absolute risk reduction (ARRadj). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01865513. Findings Between June 16, 2014, and April 29, 2015, data from 22803 patients were collected. The use of neuromuscular blocking agents was associated with an increased incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients who had undergone general anaesthesia (1658 [7·6%] of 21694); ORadj 1·86, 95% CI 1·53–2·26; ARRadj –4·4%, 95% CI –5·5 to –3·2). Only 2·3% of high-risk surgical patients and those with adverse respiratory profiles were anaesthetised without neuromuscular blocking agents. The use of neuromuscular monitoring (ORadj 1·31, 95% CI 1·15–1·49; ARRadj –2·6%, 95% CI –3·9 to –1·4) and the administration of reversal agents (1·23, 1·07–1·41; –1·9%, –3·2 to –0·7) were not associated with a decreased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Neither the choice of sugammadex instead of neostigmine for reversal (ORadj 1·03, 95% CI 0·85–1·25; ARRadj –0·3%, 95% CI –2·4 to 1·5) nor extubation at a train-of-four ratio of 0·9 or more (1·03, 0·82–1·31; –0·4%, –3·5 to 2·2) was associated with better pulmonary outcomes. Interpretation We showed that the use of neuromuscular blocking drugs in general anaesthesia is associated with an increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Anaesthetists must balance the potential benefits of neuromuscular blockade against the increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications

Search for Scalar Diphoton Resonances in the Mass Range 65−60065-600 GeV with the ATLAS Detector in pppp Collision Data at s\sqrt{s} = 8 TeVTeV

A search for scalar particles decaying via narrow resonances into two photons in the mass range 65–600 GeV is performed using $20.3\text{}\text{}{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=8\text{}\text{}\mathrm{TeV}$ $pp$ collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The recently discovered Higgs boson is treated as a background. No significant evidence for an additional signal is observed. The results are presented as limits at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of a scalar boson times branching ratio into two photons, in a fiducial volume where the reconstruction efficiency is approximately independent of the event topology. The upper limits set extend over a considerably wider mass range than previous searches

Search for Higgs and ZZ Boson Decays to J/ψγJ/\psi\gamma and Υ(nS)γ\Upsilon(nS)\gamma with the ATLAS Detector

A search for the decays of the Higgs and $Z$ bosons to $J/\psi\gamma$ and $\Upsilon(nS)\gamma$ ($n=1,2,3$) is performed with $pp$ collision data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to $20.3\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=8\mathrm{TeV}$ with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events is observed above expected backgrounds and 95% CL upper limits are placed on the branching fractions. In the $J/\psi\gamma$ final state the limits are $1.5\times10^{-3}$ and $2.6\times10^{-6}$ for the Higgs and $Z$ bosons, respectively, while in the $\Upsilon(1S,2S,3S)\,\gamma$ final states the limits are $(1.3,1.9,1.3)\times10^{-3}$ and $(3.4,6.5,5.4)\times10^{-6}$, respectively