We have long searched for ways to slow or prevent the inevitable effects of aging. But a new study suggests we might have to close our eyes and pinch our nose to drink the fountain of youth.
Fecal transplants, where one stool is implanted into another, from young to old mice, reversed some of the effects of aging in the retina and brain, according to a recent paper published in Microbiome.
“This ground-breaking study provides tantalizing healthy-living” target=”_blank”>evidence<.
WHAT MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF 3 AMERICANS AT THE SANDALS RESORT IN THE BAHAMAS?
So the researchers exchanged the gut microbes mental-health” target=”_blank”>among<.
They analyzed the changes in gut composition to better understand how fecal transplantation affected inflammation on the gut barrier, retina of the eye and the brain, which decline with age partly due to chronic inflammation, known as “inflammageing.”
The researchers found medical-research” target=”_blank”>transferring< were elevated in the young mice who received a fecal transplant from the old donors, while the cells associated with immune cell activation in the brains were over-activated in the young mice who received aged fecal transplants.
Scientist examining DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) results on a screen during an experiment in the laboratory.
(iStock)
“Our data support the suggestion that altered gut microbiota in old age contributes to intestinal and systemic inflammation, and so may contribute to driving inflammatory pathologies of aged organs,” the study said.
Although the human gut microbiota changes significantly later in life, the researchers caution about comparing their results directly to humans until more studies in older humans can be done.
They suggest, however, their findings could lead to a “poo pill” that humans take to ” … promote long-term health benefits in aged individuals and ameliorate age-associated neurodegeneration and retinal functional deterioration.”
A new facility is being built in the Quadram Institute, so new trials can be performed relating to fecal transplants and microbiota-related conditions, per the statement.
CONNECTICUT REPORTS ITS FIRST CASE OF TICK-BORNE POWASSAN VIRUS IN 2022: WHAT TO KNOW
Fecal transplantation can be offered to a select group of patients to treat a bacterial diarrheal infection called Clostridium difficile (or “C. diff”), a complication from being on antibiotics, when patients don’t respond to standard therapy, according to the Federal Drug and Administration (FDA).
Potential donors are screened thoroughly, then once approved, their stool is collected and filtered, then transferred into the recipient’s colon, commonly through a colonoscope, which consists of thin, flexible tube with a small camera at the tip, according to Mayo Clinic.
The procedure is generally considered safe, but the FDA cancer” target=”_blank”>released<.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“We were excited to find that by changing the gut microbiota of elderly individuals, we could rescue indicators of age-associated decline commonly seen in degenerative conditions of the eye and brain,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Aimée Parker, who is also from the Quadram Institute, in a statement.
“Our results provide more evidence of the important links between microbes in the gut and healthy ageing of tissues and organs around the body. We hope that our findings will contribute ultimately to understanding how we can manipulate our diet and our gut bacteria to maximize good health in later life.”
