CHE - Customised Health Essentials - customisedhealth.net

28/07/2025

A new era in multiple sclerosis (MS) research has arrived, as scientists have pinpointed two gut bacteria strains that may play a crucial role in triggering the disease. In a carefully designed study at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, researchers compared 81 pairs of identical twins, one with MS, one without revealing differences that couldn’t be explained by genes or environment alone. The answer, it turns out, may lie in the gut microbiome.

The twin pairs showed a striking pattern: Eisenbergiella tayi and Lachnoclostridium were consistently more abundant in the MS-affected siblings. Taking the research a step further, the team transferred these specific bacteria into mice, which then began showing symptoms of an MS-like condition. This discovery is the strongest evidence yet that certain gut microbes don’t just reflect disease—they may actively help cause it by influencing the immune system’s attack on the brain and spinal cord.

While previous research has hinted at a gut-brain link in MS, this is the first time specific bacterial “culprits” have been identified and shown to trigger disease in animal models. With further validation in human studies, these findings could transform MS treatment. Doctors may one day move beyond immune-suppressing drugs to target the gut itself, offering new hope for slowing, stopping, or even preventing MS before it starts.

Credits/Sources: Rojas, O. L., et al. (2025). Identification of MS-associated gut bacterial strains using identical twins discordant for disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27/07/2025

25/07/2025

Dementia patients generally show a mixed pathology, and it has been found that patients diagnosed with Alzheimer disease (AD) often have other pathologies, such as white matter lesions, vascular dementia and LATE (limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy). A recent large cross-sectional study from Sweden has now shown the reverse: based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, an AD pathology was relatively common in people diagnosed with other dementias.

Specifically, an Alzheimer biomarker profile was seen in unspecified dementia, Parkinson's dementia and frontotemporal dementia. Moreover, biomarkers indicating an Alzheimer-like pathology were negatively tied to cognitive function.

While most patients clinically diagnosed with AD had evidence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid and tau pathology, those biomarkers also emerged in people with other dementias, said Tobias Borgh Skillbäck of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Molndal, Sweden, and co-authors.

In nearly 14,000 adults, a clear, Alzheimer-like profile based on three CSF biomarkers: amyloid-beta 1-42, total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181) was seen in 68% of people with early-onset AD, 65% of late-onset AD, and 52% of people with mixed Alzheimer and vascular dementia.

Among people without an AD diagnosis, the Alzheimer profile emerged in 25% of people with unspecified dementia, 9% of people with Parkinson disease dementia, and 8% of people with frontotemporal dementia.

In several dementias, scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were associated with CSF biomarkers. MMSE scores were linked with amyloid-beta 1-42 in late-onset AD, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and unspecified dementia. MMSE scores also were tied to t-tau in late-onset AD, early-onset AD, and unspecified dementia; and linked with p-tau181 in early-onset AD.

This study highlights the complex nature of dementia, with a mixed pathology evident in most people. To my thinking, such findings question the value of trying to find a single drug treatment and imply that a multifactorial approach (as for example via Functional Herbal Therapy) is more rational.

In particular, I feel that Ginkgo biloba is highly underestimated in this context by most clinicians. Its inherent multifactorial activity makes it the best starting point for a complex dementia pathology. Clinical studies have shown that it is neuroprotective and boosts BDNF and Nrf2, is anti-inflammatory, and promotes microcirculation and mitochondrial function. In addition, it is neuroregenerative (used for stroke recovery in China).

For more information see:
http://bit.ly/4kXVmz9

and

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40293734/

05/07/2025

28/06/2025

In a 2017 study published in the journal Journal of Neuroscience, researchers from Italy found that chronic sleep deprivation triggers a response in the brain’s glial cells, particularly astrocytes and microglia. These cells are normally responsible for cleaning out old or damaged brain matter. However, in sleep-deprived brains, they began to overact—breaking down and engulfing healthy synaptic material.

This self-pruning process, while part of routine brain maintenance, becomes excessive when sleep is lacking. The astrocytes begin “eating” parts of synapses, and microglia become more active, a pattern that over time may contribute to neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

Though the study was conducted on mice, the findings highlight the importance of sleep for cognitive health. The brain uses sleep to reset, perform cleanup, and regulate neural connections. Without adequate rest, that regulation may spiral into destructive overactivity. 🧠💤

25/06/2025

25/06/2025

11/06/2025

31/05/2025

28/02/2025

27/02/2025