Seroreactive marker for inflammatory bowel disease and associations with antibodies to dietary proteins in bipolar disorder.

 Immune sensitivity to wheat glutens and bovine milk caseins may affect a subset of individuals with bipolar disorder. Digested byproducts of these foods are exorphins that have the potential to impact brain physiology through action at opioid receptors. Inflammation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract might accelerate exposure of food antigens to systemic circulation and help explain elevated gluten and casein antibody levels in individuals with bipolar disorder.

METHODS:

We measured a marker of GI inflammation, anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA), in non-psychiatric controls (n = 207), in patients with bipolar disorder without a recent onset of psychosis (n = 226), and in patients with bipolar disorder with a recent onset of psychosis (n = 38). We compared ASCA levels to antibodies against gluten, casein, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), influenza A, influenza B, measles, and Toxoplasma gondii.

RESULTS:

Elevated ASCA conferred a 3.5-4.4-fold increased odds ratio of disease association (age-, race-, and gender-corrected multinomial logistic regressions, p ≤ 0.00001) that was independent of type of medication received. ASCA correlated with food antibodies in both bipolar disorder groups (R2  = 0.29-0.59, p ≤ 0.0005), and with measles and T. gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the recent onset psychosis bipolar disorder group (R2  = 0.31-0.36, p ≤ 0.004-0.01).

CONCLUSIONS:

Elevated seropositivity of a GI-related marker and its association with antibodies to food-derived proteins and self-reported GI symptoms suggest a GI comorbidity in at least a subgroup of individuals with bipolar disorder. Marker seroreactivity may also represent part of an overall heightened activated immune state inherent to this mood disorder.

New mechanism found on how a parasite leads to cancer

A group of Portuguese scientists believe they have the answer – their research shows that the parasite's eggs ( from Schistosomiasis) can make human bladder cells behave as cancerous cells. And that key to this – according to the first author of the work Mónica Botelho– are catechol oestrogens, a molecule derived from oestrogen (the sex hormone) that was found by the researchers in the eggs and is known to be highly carcinogenic (causes cancer).

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-mechanism-parasite-cancer.html#jCp

Children with autism spectrum disorders who exhibit chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and marked fluctuation of behavioral symptoms exhibit distinct innate immune abnormalities and transcriptional profiles of peripheral blood monocytes.

Innate/adaptive immune responses and transcript profiles of peripheral blood monocytes were studied in ASD children who exhibit fluctuating behavioral symptoms following infection and other immune insults (ASD/Inf, N=30). The ASD/Inf children with persistent gastrointestinal symptoms (ASD/Inf+GI, N=19), revealed less production of proinflammatory and counter-regulatory cytokines with stimuli of innate immunity and marked changes in transcript profiles of monocytes as compared to ASD/no-Inf (N=28) and normal (N=26) controls. This included a 4-5 fold up-regulation of chemokines (CCL2 and CCL7), consistent with the production of more CCL2 by ASD/Inf+GI cells. These results indicate dysregulated innate immune defense in the ASD/Inf+GI children, rendering them more vulnerable to common microbial infection/dysbiosis and possibly subsequent behavioral changes.

BCG bacteria to treat Bladder Cancer | The Scientist

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a puny cousin of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, and as such serves as an excellent vaccine against the disease. But BCG is also used to treat bladder cancer. Research published today (June 5) in Science Translational Medicine reveals how BCG achieves its cancer-fighting performance, and suggests the bug has a better chance of winning if the patient has a prior BCG vaccination.