Rylan Anderson

BIOL of Disease

Dr. Karpel

11/16/18

Curated Paper 2

                Initially, the topics of the brain, microbiome and gene therapy seem to have nothing in common.  Before taking this class, I might even argue that they have very little if not nothing in common but if I have learned one thing from Biology of Disease, it’s that there is a connection and it is most likely a stronger connection than we think.  These topics by themselves are very complicated and give us much more we can learn and perfect in treating disease.  Saying this, I do believe that a better understanding of the brain, microbiome and gene therapy, and how they coincide with each other will open endless possibilities for maximizing our health.  In this paper, I will be discussing each of these topics individually as well as the connection they have with each other. 

The Brain

                The brain, by itself, is arguably the most complicated organ in the human body.  Not only are we still learning about its many functions and pathways, but everyone has variation and differences in their own brain.  For example, we may know that the Prefrontal Association Complex is responsible for the individual’s personality and higher thought but every single person on Earth has their own personality.  And every single person on earth is able to take the same information and relate to it differently using their pathways to reach back and find seemingly endless knowledge and experiences that is unique to only them for that topic.  The same goes with mental illness and brain injuries.  Two people may have the same impact hits on the football field or even similar hits forming concussions, but one can continue to play almost symptom-free and the other can’t remember who they play for.    My point is, the brain is both fascinating and complicated.

                Here at SUU, Dr. Pillitari has a sign on his office door that states, “The human brain is awesome.  It functions 24 hours a day from the day we are born and only stops when we are taking an exam or fall in love.”  I think we can all relate to when our brain seems to stop working… but I think we often fail to remember how powerful it is.  I remember my high school baseball coach would have us “visualize” before big games and how dumb we thought that was.  What I didn’t find dumb was how effective it became.  I soon realized that when I could picture me blazing a fast-ball across the outside corner of the plate or hitting a line drive over the short stop’s head, it started happening more often.  Just by already having a memory of thinking about being successful, I was more likely to succeed. 

                In this class, we hear the term Ayurveda nearly every class period.  From what I’ve learned about the brain, I feel that the brain is the strongest connection between the mind, body and spirit in the Ayurveda theory.  In an article written by Joe Oliveto, he gives eight claims that the human mind can accomplish according to various studies.  Studies have shown that if you can’t work out, just think about it.  One showed that over twelve weeks, one group who exercised a specific finger muscle showed 53% muscle increase.  The group who that didn’t exercise it once but thought about working out that muscle over the twelve weeks showed 35% muscle increase. (Vinoth…)  To back this idea up, the same article references studies that suggest believing that you are exercising enough will cause you to lose weight and imagining yourself working out a muscle in a cast will prevent muscle loss. (Oliveto…)  

                To continue with the connection the brain has in Ayurveda, but this time how damage and malfunction in the brain can change your mind and body.  When I was young, my mother was in a car accident leaving her with a traumatic brain injury.  From day one, the medical professionals told us that there’s no way to know how it will change her.  For some, they turn aggressive and even depressive.  For most with a traumatic brain injury, there are going to be effects on the body as well.  For my mom, she can’t speak well and still can’t walk by herself but luckily, I feel that her spirit is still the same especially when others seem to be affected spiritually.  The brain has a huge impact on how our bodies function, how our mind works and our spirit illuminates. 

Microbiome 

                We have come to learn that the microbiome plays a huge role in our health, both physically and mentally.  From class, we’ve learned that people with obesity and diabetes have similar organisms inside of them that somebody who is fit might not have.   We also talked about how rats with no microbiome are more prone to stress and are less social.  Although we have all these facts that different bacteria and organisms are linked to certain behaviors and illnesses, our understanding on how is much more clouded.

                More and more studies are suggesting that there is a type of communication between the gut, specifically the microbes of the gut and the brain.  Charles Schmidt, author of “Mental Health: thinking from the Gut”, suggests that the communication is bi-directional and what we eat, and the microbiome we develop in out body is directly related to our mental health.  This thought process isn’t necessarily new however… scientist dating back in the 19^th century accumulating wastes in the colon and infections were linked to depression, anxiety and psychosis.  This lead to many experimental surgeries and colonic purges which eventually ended because the thought was believed to be “quackery”.  In the article above, he also states how there is evidence of co-evolution with humans and microbes.  Earlier I stated that rats without a microbiome are less likely to be social.  Well, the theory of co-evolution backs this up.  Microbes need us to be social, so they can spread in the human population, therefore, making the bi-directional communication between the brain and microbiome a necessity for survival.  To take things further, a team at McMaster University in Ontario took a germ-free mouse and introduced bacteria from the intestines of another mouse.  The results showed that the germ-free mouse would take on aspects of the other’s personality.  The timid, unsocial germ-free mouse become more exploratory and daring which again, suggests the microbiome could greatly affect the levels of anxiety and mood disorders.  (Schmidt…)

                What was even more interesting to me was suggested evidence that autism may have a link to the microbiome.  In 2007, neuroscientist Paul Patterson found data that showed women with a prolonged fever during pregnancy were seven times more likely to have a child born with autism.  For his research, he then experimented this concept with mice, observing the characteristics of offspring showed some of the core features present in children with autism: limited sociability, repetitive behavior and reduced communication and even gastrointestinal symptoms suffered by a high percentage of children with autism.  Microbiologists then took this a step further and studied the bacteria in MIA mice which have similar symptoms to that of autism.  They found that the two bacterial classes, Clostridia and Bacteroidia, were far more abundant.    It is unknown that autism is caused by the same two classes or even if it’s caused and not just correlated with abnormality in the microbiome, but the future in this field is promising for our overall health.  (Shmidt…)

Gene Therapy and the Genome

                The topic of gene therapy is, just like the other two, very complicated.  We can now feel confident through GMO and studies that we can effectively alter genomes.  What is still a heated debate in science and politics is what the consequences of altering the genome might be.  Instead of looking at the mechanisms and ethics of gene therapy, I hope to discuss connections between the microbiome and the brain has with the genome and gene therapy. 

                We can understand that the genome codes for almost everything that we are but how much of our genome is also affected by the environment.  For example, there is strong evidence that depression is hereditary and at the same time is correlated with our gut biomes.  Could there be a connection here?  I don’t know if I can answer this, but I can give you something to think about.  First, it’s estimated by some that bacteria outnumber us 9:1 and that 90% of DNA in the human body is bacterial DNA.  Could changing your bacteria/bacterial DNA be just as productive in certain illnesses such as depression?  (Chaudhary…)

                My final thought with gene therapy is similar to that of genetically modified organisms we use for agriculture.  Many of the GMOs we have developed are made to become resistant to a parasite or the chemicals used to kill the parasite.  Could we do the same thing for humans, and would we want to?  Imagine a world where mosquitos weren’t attracted to us because of a random protein made by altered DNA with no other side effects.  Malaria, West Nile Virus and illnesses alike would disappear in the human population.

 

Conclusion

                Science and healthcare is at an all-time high in history.  We are able to do more now than ever before and our understanding of the mind, microbiome and genome will open up even more possibilities we never knew were possible.  When first learning about the core sciences, I could never see a clear connection but the more I’ve learned, I now understand that biology reduces down to chemistry and chemistry reduces down to physics.  I believe it’s the same thing with understanding disease and treatments.  The theory of Ayurveda will hold true and the connections between the genome, microbiota and the brain will only become stronger as we continue to discover more.   

Citations

Chaudhary, Kulreet. “Gut Health and the Microbiome: The Prime.” Maharishi Ayurveda Products International. The Art and Science of Health, www.mapi.com/blog/gut-health-and-the-microbiome.html.

Oliveto, Joe. “8 Things You Can Do With Your Mind That Seem Like Magic.” Thrillist, Thrillist, 9 July 2015, www.thrillist.com/culture/cool-things-you-can-do-with-your-mind-real-superpowers-humans-have#.

Schmidt, Charles. “Mental Health: Thinking from the Gut.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 25 Feb. 2015, www.nature.com/articles/518S13a.

Vinoth K.Ranganathana, Vlodek Siemionowab, Jing Z. Liua, Vinod Sahgalb and Guang H. Yue. “From Mental Power to Muscle Power-Gaining Strength by Using the Mind.” NeuroImage, Academic Press, 3 Feb. 2004, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393203003257.