Ashley Gallagher, Assistant Editor

New study results show that when pregnant mice were fed butyrate, a food supplement derived from intestinal bacteria, most of their pups survived after exposure to infection that induces fatal biliary atresia.

Investigators of the study, published in 

, said this occurred because the mothers receiving the enhanced diet transferred a healthier mic of gut bacteria to their newborns, which helped them resist the disease.

Biliary atresia is a rare disease that occurs when a delicate tree-like set of ducts that carry bile from the liver to the intestine becomes scarred and blocked. Although some treatments can slow the damage most children who develop the disease will die without a liver transplant.

"Other studies have shown that the maternal transfer of the microbiome to the baby may change susceptibility of later-onset conditions, such as allergies, obesity, even heart disease. Our study shows that this transfer also has implications for diseases that begin during the neonatal period, like biliary atresia," Jorge Bezerra, MD, director of the division of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said in a statement.

When the newborn mice were exposed to a virus that is known to cause biliary atresia, about 60% of those born to a mother given butyrate survived compared with approximately 20% of the mice born to mothers receiving typical food and water.

The key compound turned out to be glutamine, which is widely available as a food supplement.

However, investigators injected pups with glutamine after they were born, rather than feeding it to their mothers.

After further testing showed which compound produced by the healthier mix of gut bacteria offered the strongest protection, investigators improved the survival rate to as high as 83%.

These different results indicate that more research is necessary before making any recommendations to human mothers about what they might do to reduce the risk of their children developing biliary atresia, investigators said.

Butyrate is a short chain fatty acid that is metabolized by humans but depends upon gut bacteria to produce. Butyrate occurs when the gut bacteria break down otherwise non-digestible plant fibers.

Like mice in the study, human babies with biliary atresia often have very low amounts of butyrate in their systems, which makes the beneficial effects observed from the butyrate heavy diet worth investigating, investigators said.

There have been no human trials of the butyrate diet attempted for preventing biliary atresia.

"We think that the intestinal production of butyrate in neonates also enriched the population of bacteria that makes glutamine inside the intestinal lumen," Bezerra said.

"Both molecules are important, with glutamine serving as a survival factor for bile duct cells while butyrate may suppress an unwanted harmful immune response. It appears that both work together to decrease the risk of biliary injury,” Bezerra said.

Investigators also used DNA sequencing to analyze the population of gut bacteria, which demonstrated a common molecular signature between maternal and newborn microbiomes after the mothers were fed with butyrate.

A safe dose of butyrate that also would be strong enough to prevent biliary atresia is not known at this time.

Boosting the maternal microbiome sharply reduces biliary atresia risk in early-stage study. Science Daily. News release. January 10, 2022. Accessed January 17, 2022. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220110145306.htm

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When pregnant mice were fed butyrate, most of their pups survived after exposure to infection that induces a fatal intestinal blockage, the results of a new analysis show.

Boosting the Maternal Microbiome Sharply Reduces Biliary Atresia in Early-Stage Study

Among individuals with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), a type of bleeding stroke, recent cannabis users were more than twice as likely to develop dangerous complications that could result in death or greater disability, according to research results published in 

, a journal of the American Stroke Association of the American Heart Association.

The study is the largest to examine the impact of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, of cannabis on complications after an aSAH, a rare but severe form of stroke.

"We're all vulnerable to a bleeding stroke or a ruptured aneurysm. However, if you're a routine marijuana user, you may be predisposed to a worse outcome from a stroke after the rupture of that aneurysm," Michael Lawton, MD, president and CEO of Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, said in a statement.

This type of stroke can result in neurological disabilities in about 66% of individuals and death during the follow up period in approximately 40% of individuals, according to the statement.

The immediate treatment of aSAH can prevent and stop further bleeding. However, in the 14 days following aSAH, individuals can experience worsening symptoms that could result in more brain damage. This complication is called delayed cerebral ischemia and is the leading cause of death and disability after an aSAH stroke.

Investigators of the study analyzed data on more than 1000 individuals who had been treated for aSAH at Barrow Neurological Institute between January 1, 2007 and July 31, 2019. All individuals were treated to stop the bleeding either noninvasively by treading a slim tube through the blood vessel to the base of the aneurysm and releasing coils that fold to fill in the pace and provide a barrier to further bleeding or through open surgery to clip off the base of the aneurysm .

Urine toxicology screening was done on each of the individuals admitted with ruptured aneurysms. Investigators compared the occurrence of delayed cerebral ischemia in 46 individuals, averaging aged 47 years and 41% female, who tested positive for THC, and 968 individuals, averaging aged 56 years and 71% female, who tested negative for THC.

A positive urine screen for THC reflects cannabis exposure within 3 days for a single use to within approximately 30 days for frequent heavy use.

The individuals who recently used cannabis did not have significantly larger aneurysms or worse stroke symptoms when admitted to the hospital and they were not more likely to have high blood pressure or other cardiovascular risk factors than individuals who tested negative for THC.

Recent cannabis users were also significantly more likely to have tested positive for other substances, including cocaine, methamphetamines, and tobacco, compared with those who tested negative for THC.

Of all individuals, approximately 36% developed delayed cerebra ischemia, approximately 13.5% died, and approximately 50% were left with moderate to severe disability, and .

After adjusting for several other characteristics as well as recent exposure to other illicit substances, individuals who tested positive for THC were 2.7 times more likely to develop delayed cerebral ischemia, 2.2 times more likely to die, and 2.8 times more likely to have long-term moderate to severe physical disability.

The study does not specifically address how cannabis raises the risk of delayed cerebral ischemia and vasospasm.

The study’s limitations include being conducted at a single institution and not being able a head-to-head analysis of those who used cannabis and those who did not.

Marijuana users’ risk of deadly complication doubles after rare type of bleeding stroke. Science Daily. News release. January 6, 2022. Accessed January 11, 2022. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220106100350.htm

The study is the largest to examine the impact of THC on individuals with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Marijuana Users’ Risk of Deadly Complication Doubles After Rare Type of Bleeding Stroke

Myelin, a sheath of insulation around nerves that helps electrical impulses travel through the central nervous system, is reduced in mice that have a gene deletion associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), results of a study by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio show.

Investigators depleted 1 copy of a gene, Tbx1, which is encoded in the chromosome 22q11.2 region linked to impaired cognition, to find cognitive speed was slower in those mice on 2 tests: attentional set shifting, which challenges cognitive flexibility, and the Morris water maze, which taxes spatial memory.

"Variants of this gene, Tbx1, are associated with ASD, intellectual disability, and many other developmental issues," Noboru Hiroi, PhD, professor of pharmacology at UT Health San Antonio, said in a statement. "These ultra-rare variants are found in only a few families in the world."

UT Health San Antonio investigators teamed up with investigators from Tohoku University in Japan, who performed whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging studies to discover which brain regions had altered white matter.

Changes were seen only in the fimbria, a band of nerve fibers that connect various brain regions with the hippocampus, which is the center of learning and memories.

"That is a very regionally specific deficit," Dr. Hiroi said.

The findings were confirmed by investigators through electron microscopy.

In analyzing the slower cognition exhibited by the mice, the investigators hypothesized that myelin was negatively affected.

Indeed, mice lacking 1 Tbx1 copy did not have as many cells called oligodendrocytes, which are the cells that manufacture myelin.

"This negatively affected the production of the building blocks of myelin, which resulted in these mice not having enough protective fibers," Hiroi said. "Without the myelin sheath, you don't have speedy signal conductance between brain regions."

The study is limited, because investigators cannot compare the speed of mice on a pair of tests with actual cognition in humans.

However, human and mice studies are both important in understanding gene copy number variants in developmental and psychiatric disorders,” Hiroi said.

"In a mouse model, we identified structural changes in the brain and a specific gene that, when deficient, is responsible for those changes," Hiroi said.

"Tbx1 is only one of many genes implicated in autism and schizophrenia, but this mechanistic basis we found, this impaired myelination, can be tested for generalizability in other copy number variants and ultra-rare variants.

The study was funded by 3 institutes of the US National Institutes of Health: Institutes of Health: the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

ASD affects 1 in 44 children, according to the CDC.

1. Autism-linked gene, if deleted, results in less myelin. Science Daily. News release. December 21, 2021. Accessed January 5, 2022. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211221102655.htm

2. Data & statistics on autism spectrum disorder. CDC. Updated December 2, 2021. Accessed January 6, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

Study results from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio also show that cells that make myelin were diminished in mice.

Study: Autism-Linked Gene Deletion Could Affect Cognitive Speed

Children and young adults who are exposed to sun may be protected against getting multiple sclerosis (MS), results of a study by UC San Francisco (UCSF) and Australian National University showed.

The study follows previous work that demonstrated an association between increased ultraviolet exposure in childhood and lower odds of adult MS.

, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Sun exposure is known to boost vitamin D levels," Emmanuelle Waubant, MD, PhD, professor in the department of neurology at UCSF, said in a statement.

"It also stimulates immune cells in the skin that have a protective role in diseases such as MS,” she said. “Vitamin D may also change the biological function of the immune cells and, as such, play a role in protecting against autoimmune diseases."

The study included 332 individuals between aged 3 and 22 years, who had MS for an average of 7 months. They were matched with individuals without MS by age, gender, location, and sun exposure.

Investigators found that in questionnaires filled out by individuals with or without MS or their parents, 19% said that they spent less than 30 minutes daily outdoors during the previous summer compared with 6% of those who did not have MS.

Investigators adjusted for MS risk, such as being female or smoking, and found that individuals who spent an average of 30 minutes to 1 hour outdoors daily had a 52% lower chance of MS compared with those who spent less than 30 minutes outdoors daily.

Although MS is prevalent in adults between the aged 20 and 50 years, about 3% to 5% of the approximately 1 million individuals in the United States began experiencing symptoms during childhood.

Pediatric onset of MS is initially high inflammation, but it takes longer than adults to advance, with symptoms of secondary progression, such as moderate to severe weakness, poor coordination, and bowel and bladder control, which occurs, on average, 28 years after disease onset, according to the statement.

Investigators also found an association with the intensity of sunlight and a decreased risk of MS. They estimated that residents of Florida would be 21% less likely than residents of New York to have MS.

They said that sun exposure is “dose dependent,” so the longer an individual is exposed to sunlight, the less likely they are to have MS.

They added that even exposure in the first year of life seemed to protect against MS.

They also added that the use of sunscreen does not appear to lessen the therapeutic effects of sunlight, Waubant said.

Clinical trials are needed to determine if sun exposure or vitamin D supplements can prevent the development of MS.

"Advising regular time in the sun of at least 30 minutes daily especially during summer, using sun protection as needed, especially for first degree relatives of MS patients, may be a worthwhile intervention to reduce the incidence of MS,” Waubant said

Limited sun exposure and/or low levels of vitamin D have been associated with other conditions, such as Alzheimer, Crohn, and Parkinson diseases; lupus, other types of dementia, and type 1 diabetes.

Sunshine may shield children, young adults from MS. ScienceDaily. News release. December 8, 2021. Accessed December 14, 2021. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211208161146.htm

Study results show that children and young adults who spend time in the sun may have less of a chance of getting multiple sclerosis.

Sunlight May Protect Against Multiple Sclerosis

In a small study, investigators gathered more than 1000 hours of brain recordings in a clinic at home from individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

These data are a key first step toward designing improved deep brain simulation (DBS) treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. DBS has shown great potential for improving the lives of individuals with neurological disorders, such as Parkinson disease and is gaining traction in treating OCD.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, and the results were published in 

"By combining at-home and in-clinic brain recordings, this study could aid in the development of adaptive DBS treatments, which could be transformative for people living with OCD," John Ngai, PhD, director of the NIH BRAIN Initiative, said in a statement.

Investigators collected brain recordings form 3 individuals who were already receiving DBS treatment for OCD. These recordings occurred in the clinic, during teletherapy sessions, and at the participants’ homes.

These data will be used to correlate specific brain patterns with OCD symptoms, with the goal being the identification of neural signatures and related behaviors to help predict the onset of symptoms. The hope is this can be used to further refine DBS treatment.

The at-home component is particularly important, given that the environment is where individuals are being exposed to triggers in their everyday lives, according to the statement.

"Currently, DBS therapy for OCD involves implanting the electrodes, turning on the stimulation, and then fine-tuning that stimulation as best as possible in the clinic," David Borton, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Brown University, said in the statement. "But because symptoms can be triggered by many factors, the clinician is tuning the DBS system for the patient at that moment in the clinic, but their needs could change significantly once they leave the clinic.”

OCD and other neuropsychiatric disorders are challenging to treat with DBS because the symptoms fluctuate over time. OCD symptoms can come and go over time and can be triggered by an individual’s environment, unlike motor disorders such as Parkinson disease.

Another challenge is the lack of biomarkers for OCD symptoms. Changes in the symptoms in response to DBS can take weeks or even months to occur once treatment begins.

Clinical programing for the DBS system must rely on secondary behavioral changes, such as positive affect responses, when individuals feel happier or more talkative when stimulation is turned on.

In the new study, brain recordings were taken from the same electrodes responsible for delivering the DBS therapy and time-synched to EEG, other physiological recordings, and facial changes when recorded in the clinic; to efforts to evoke symptom responses during teletherapy sessions; and to self-reported symptoms during everyday life and during prescribed tasks at home. Investigators were able to begin identifying candidates for neurological signatures of OCD, such as brain activity changes that occurred over time in correlation with clinical scores for OCD symptoms.

They also plan to tweak the simulation in response to the candidate biomarkers to confirm that they can be used to affect the onset of symptoms.

Recordings from the cortical surface of the individuals will be added to provide an more information.

Better deep brain stimulation therapy for OCD. ScienceDaily. News release. December 9, 2021. Accessed December 14, 2021. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211209124220.htm

Investigators capture more than 1000 hours from 3 individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder as a first step in designing improved treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Study Gathers Brain Recordings to Improve Deep Brain Simulation for OCD 

Open dialogue and reciprocal information sharing between parents and emerging adults, defined as adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years, reduce barriers for talking about health and can lead to a better overall health outcome for emerging adults, according to a new study from Iowa State University.

"If you're an emerging adult who's worried about what a parent might think, particularly if it's a health issue that's stigmatized or your choices in handling the health issue do not align with your parent's values, then chances are you're going to avoid seeking treatment or look for an alternative route," Katherine Rafferty, PhD, an associate teaching professor of psychology and communication studies at Iowa State University, said in a statement.

In the US, when an individual turns 18, they can make medical decisions without parental consent and have legal ownership over their private health information. However, under the Affordable Care Act, adult children can stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until they turn 26 years old.

Investigators of the study identified 3 significant factors that affect whether an emerging adult discloses health information to a parent, including relational quality, reciprocity, and conformity.

Additionally, more than 300 college students were surveyed, and the majority of individuals were on their parents’ health insurance plans and came from a traditional family with a mother and a father. Investigators found that emerging adults who perceived their parents as being open and respectful were more likely to talk about health issues, but typically with their mothers more frequently than their fathers. Rafferty explained that mothers are typically the ones that keep track of medical and health information for families, so this could be a potential reason adult children will typically share information with their mothers.

Investigators also found that emerging adults were much more likely to talk to their parents about their health if parents reciprocated this behavior early in the relationship. Rafferty noted that reciprocal information could also help emerging adults better manage their health.

The stigma around certain health topics, like sexual health, also had a big effect on health disclosures. Emerging adults who were worried about feeling ashamed or wanting to protect a relationship with their father were more likely to conceal private health information from them. This concealment was particularly prevalent in families with high conformity orientations, but it did not influence their openness with their mothers.

"If COVID has taught us anything, it is that health issues will impact all of us at some point," Rafferty said in the statement. "We have all had to pause and re-evaluate our physical health and well-being. How parents model this for their children will influence how they talk about and approach health issues when they become emerging adults."

The new findings highlight how family dynamics can significantly impact whether or not adult children decide to share their health information with their parents. Specifically, open and respectful conversations early in that parent-child relationship can improve an emerging adult’s overall health and reduce the potential for family conflict.

Family dynamics can motivate and prevent talking about health. ScienceDaily. News release. December 9, 2021. Accessed December 9, 2021. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211209201704.htm

Study investigators identified 3 significant factors that affect whether an emerging adult discloses health information to a parent.