Is the Brain Microbiome a Researcher’s Fantasy, Or Is It Real?
The brain has closely guarded secrets regarding its pathology, and much remains to be explored that could achieve unbelievable advances in disease management.
UPDATE: Kidney has a microbiome, too. Read below.
“Star Trek” had it all wrong. The final frontier isn’t out there; it is between our ears, and the journey has been tortuous with many false starts. Now, questions that would have seemed absurd previously are being asked, but we must ask, and questioning must be the approach of the future.
Although our understanding of how brain microorganisms work is still limited, preliminary studies have shown that they may interact with brain cells, influencing processes as diverse as immune response, personality, and cognition. Conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis (UCS), and obesity have been linked to changes in specific brain networks.
According to scientific speculation, bacteria may control brain inflammation and impact the development of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). It is also possible for microbes to amplify the effects of mental diseases like schizophrenia or OCD.
