A study in mice suggests that the secret to freshness may be in our faeces. Researchers say they have been able to reverse the effects of aging on their brains, eyes and guts.
The researchers, who have performed fecal transplants from young to elderly rodents, believe that replacing old gut bacteria with new strains reduces inflammation in the body.
Inflammation becomes more common as we age and is the root cause of many age-related health problems.
The researchers believe that the aging microbiome in aging mice weakens the gut lining, allowing bacteria to enter the bloodstream and cause inflammation.
To test this theory, they also gave younger mice a faecal material made from the feces of older rodents. Younger mice developed brain inflammation and telltale signs of age-related vision problems.
Stool transplants are already used in humans to treat Clostridium difficile infection as well as gastrointestinal conditions such as colitis, IBS and constipation.
While more research is needed, the scientists added that patients with age-related disorders someday may also benefit from a similar treatment, which can be given through capsules to be swallowed.
This study is the latest to promote the role of the microbiome in human health.
Previous research suggested that the complex network of microorganisms in our digestive system is implicated in dementia.
Other studies have tracked changes in gut bacteria as possible early indicators of hard-to-detect diseases, such as pancreatic cancer.
In the latest research, scientists from the University of East Anglia looked at three groups of mice, aged three months, 18 months and two years.
From a human perspective, experts say a two-year-old mouse is the equivalent of a person in their 80s.
The rodents’ microbiome was ‘rinsed’ with antibiotics before being fed a ‘faecal slurry’ prepared from pellets produced from younger or older mice.
By doing this, the scientists transferred the bacteria in the guts of younger mice to their elderly counterparts, and vice versa.
In elderly mice, this prevented bacteria from seeping through the intestinal lining and causing health problems linked to inflammation in the brain and eyes.
However, the opposite was true for younger mice that underwent fecal transplants from older rodents. These younger mice developed age-related problems as the lining of the intestine weakened, allowing bacteria to enter the bloodstream.
The researchers also found that the eyes of younger mice had elevated levels of certain proteins linked to retinal degeneration following fecal transplant.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Amy Parker, an expert in the gut microbiome, said the findings revealed more regarding the link between gut health and aging.
“We were excited to discover that by altering the gut microbiota of elderly individuals, we might rescue indicators of age-related decline commonly seen in degenerative conditions of the eye and brain,” she explained.
We hope that our findings will eventually contribute to understanding how we can manipulate our diet and gut bacteria to maximize good health later in life.
Study author Professor Simon Carding, another expert on the gut microbiome, added that the findings might be used to develop treatments for humans.
“This groundbreaking study provides tantalizing evidence for the direct involvement of gut microbiota in aging and functional deterioration of brain function and vision, and presents a potential solution in the form of an alternative treatment for the gut microbiome.”
The researchers now plan to conduct further experiments on how long the benefits of faecal transplants from younger mice last for their older compatriots, as well as explore the microorganisms responsible.
The results of the experiment were published in the journal Microbiome.
Source: Daily Mail
