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Scientists are finding increasing evidence that the stomach and the brain are linked via microbes and the immune system. Researchers…have found that inducing strokes in mice altered the animals’ gut microbiota, triggering an immune response that traveled back to the brain and worsened the severity of the lesions. When the researchers transplanted fecal bacteria from healthy mice into germ-free rodents that had suffered strokes, the latter animals made a better recovery than mice that didn’t receive the healthy bacteria[.]
The authors show that if the stroke is severe enough, it affects the gut microbiota, which then feeds back to the brain, [neuroscientist Josef Anrather] said.
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Consistent with previous studies, [the researchers] found that the animals’ gut motility was notably reduced following their strokes. Together, the findings suggest that by slowing the movement of stomach contents, stroke alters the microbial makeup of the gut.
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In future work, [Arthur Liesz] and his colleagues hope to better understand the mechanism of bacterial interaction with the immune system, and determine which bacterial species have the largest impact.
Read full, original post: Stroke Alters Gut Microbiome, Impacting Recovery
