Curated Paper 1- KP

The body has always been a super interesting topic to me. The careful balance of so many different things perfectly blending into one functioning organism is so incredible. Specifically the microbiome and its connection with many mental and physical ailments, but of course what is a microbiome? It is a complex community of little organisms in a specific environment. Already off to an interesting start. These microbiomes are all over our bodies, hands, mouths, feet, hair and even the intestines, the gut microbiome specifically being our main focus for now.

The microbiome of the human gut is connected to many different diseases, including many behavioral and hormonal disorders. Showing the connection between our gut microbiome and our physical/mental health is a very deep pool that not many people know about. In studies done on mice they showed completely different personality types with the only difference being the presence of a diverse gut microbiome. The mice with a more diverse system of microbes within them showed more curiosity and an easier time dealing with stressful situations. These helpful bacteria within us are sometimes the line between life and death (thanks little guys). 

In the study I read about, they used forced immobilization to mice with and without these diverse microbiomes and the results ended up being exactly what I stated before. Low anxiety with more curiosity of their environment. These factors alone are so interesting to me because they affect mice so much it’s obvious it has to affect us majorly too. I found that some of the links of human illness and the gut microbiome include anxiety disorders, depression, and even ASD (Autism spectrum disorder). While doing some research on these disorders I remembered my cousin who recently graduated high school. He has low-functioning autism so it was really nice to see his love for learning pay off. Low-functioning autism is the most intense form of autism which basically means he needs more help than most people. My nephew on the other hand has high-functioning autism so he isn’t as challenged in everyday life but I have seen his struggles before. Including those two, I have a few other family members who are on the spectrum with different levels of functionality. It’s interesting how differently it expresses itself between individuals who are on the spectrum. When looking into treatment of other neurological disorders, I found that many of the drugs used to treat them actually have antimicrobial properties. Some other effects of the drugs can actually decrease after a certain period and then all other drugs that are closely similar to the initial dose drug are actually partially or completely ineffective after that. Another interesting thing that can be caused by changes in the microbiome is actually diabetes.

I have a pretty decent amount of family members with diabetes and it really surprised me how little I really knew about it. When doing my research I found some pretty good articles about it. The first one I reviewed mentions excess urine which my dad experienced on a trip home from college with my parents. We were driving home from Kansas after my first year of college and he had to stop so often that my mom and I were starting to get concerned. Finally a few days after we got home, we finally convinced him to go to the doctor about it, as the problem was still there, and soon after he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Interestingly enough, my grandparents on my mom’s side also had type 2 diabetes that didn’t affect them too much. Both of my grandparents passed away from other reasons but I did have a great uncle that passed away from complications of type 2 diabetes. Anyhow, I did discover a little more about some types of diabetes. Type 1 being (mostly) immune-mediated where beta cells are attacked by T-cells. There aren't any preventative measures as it is basically a “random” event. There is also Gestational diabetes which I do know a little bit about. The same article talks about a study done in 2008 that found an increase in rate of diabetes in expectant mothers. 

I also learned that my dad no longer has type 2 diabetes but is now borderline so he could tip either way at any time. This got me curious so I decided to look up how diabetes is reversed in patients who have it. The only results I could find were bariatric surgery so I had to backtrack and look up what that was too. Oddly enough I found out what it is and that a few of my relatives have had this surgery, not necessarily for diabetes but weight loss in general. Overall, I understand the effects of diabetes in everyday life. My dad was not thrilled with his diagnosis at all and was struggling to find foods he could eat that wouldn’t spike his blood sugar too high. This made him lose a lot of weight but fortunately now he has found a balance unlike my great uncle who could not. It is very interesting to me that some people would really rather die than change the way they live.

Another thing I find very interesting is the overall cost of living for those with diabetes. I understand that sometimes it really is because they cannot or will not change their way of living in order to maintain their health but it could be that they legitimately cannot afford the treatment for the disease. I decided to look up another country first and found some costs from China. An overall estimate for an inpatient year was $1,790.22 (converted to US dollars). Which is still a decent amount of money but I also decided to look up their minimum wage which I found to be $3.60/hr. Yikes. I did also find that it’s about $650.60/month for estimated monthly costs, which does not include rent. Then I decided to find some about the U.S. and I found that it is still ridiculously expensive compared to minimum wages and average monthly cost of living, but the paper I found actually shows a decrease in overall price when comparing institutional factors but when comparing outpatient numbers for diabetes supplies it is higher than another previous study that I used. 

Overall, the gut microbiome being connected to many different mental and physical illnesses is extremely interesting to me. I appreciate learning about all of these things to better understand those affected by these illnesses and learn more about my family. I never would’ve thought to look into these things unless on a whim. It also helps me understand ways to lessen the blow of certain illnesses and even prevent them as well as learning to understand how certain individuals go about daily life. However treatment for some of these illnesses are very expensive which makes it very hard for most people to get treatment.