Inflammation of the gut can impair the area of the brain involved in cognitive processes. It is the result of research conducted at the Teb (Biomedical Technologies) laboratory of Enea – the National Agency for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development – which examines, in particular, the effects of chronic and acute colitis on training of new neurons in the hippocampus (the area of the brain that stores long-term memories).
Furthermore, the study – the results of which are published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences – reveals that intestinal inflammation causes a chemical alteration in the metabolism of amino acids, lipids and vitamin B1, the latter essential for the life of cells as for the normal functioning of the brain, nerves and heart.
Alterations of the intestinal microbiota
“The communication between the intestine and the brain is a topic of great interest. More research, in fact, highlights how alterations in the intestinal microbiota – the set of microorganisms present in the digestive tract – can cause obesity, diabetes and autoimmune diseases, but also be associated with mental and cognitive disorders such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s” explains Simonetta Pazzaglia, head of the Enea Biomedical Technologies laboratory and co-author of the study.
The results obtained in Enea’s Teb laboratory show – clearly – that colitis is associated with the appearance of neuroinflammation as well as significant alterations in the production of new neurons by the hippocampus. Therefore, intestinal inflammation does not represent an isolated phenomenon, but can affect the health of the metabolism, altering the metabolites that can impact the brain.
Communication between the gut and the brain
Anxiety often accompanies those suffering from chronic intestinal diseases. In this regard, a team of researchers coordinated by Maria Rescigno, head of the mucosal immunology and microbiota laboratory at Humanitas, published on Science the results of a study that opens new scenarios in the knowledge of the functioning of one of the barriers between the blood circulation and the brain: the choroid plexus (the structure present in the brain where the liquid that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord is produced).
“At the level of the choroid plexus, we have documented the mechanism that blocks the entry into the brain of inflammatory signals originating in the intestine and migrating to other organs thanks to the blood flow,” explains Rescigno. Adding: “It is a phenomenon which is associated with an isolation of the brain from the rest of the organism which is responsible for behavioral alterations, including the onset of anxiety-provoking symptoms.”
What if depression comes from the gut? New study sheds light on the microbiota