This week I had a one hour interview with a person from the National Psoriasis Organization, they are planning to have the microbiome aspect to psoriasis featured in one of their issues this summer.  During the interview I mentioned that not only was I full recovered from CFS, but actually suspect that my cognitive abilities are better than before the last onset.

We know that moods and other cognitive dimensions can be greatly influence by the microbiome. A few examples:

• It’s a Gut Feeling – how the gut microbiota affects the state of mind.[2014]
• Role of the Microbiome in Energy Regulation and Metabolism. [2014]
• Microbial ‘Old Friends’, immunoregulation and stress resilience. [2013]

I know from personal experience that executive function, memory and speed of thought can be greatly influenced by gut bacteria — my own SPECT scan presenting similar to Alzheimer’s disease concurrent with memory issue is a clear demonstration (also see Alzheimer‘s disease and the microbiome. [2013]); and the disappearance of the same with the use of appropriate probiotics. It  raises the issue whether some Alzheimer’s and other dementia diagnosis may be due to microbiome shifts alone. In other words, they may be very treatable.

• You are what you host: microbiome modulation of the aging process [2014], states “microbes also affect the most fundamental of host physiological phenotypes, the rate of aging itself.“
• High throughput DNA sequencing to detect differences in the subgingival plaque microbiome in elderly subjects with and without dementia. [2012] ” evidence that alterations in the subgingival microbiome are associated with changes in cognitive function,” — which re-enforces my recommendation to include Oral Probiotics in your treatment plan! Also see [2012]
• Cognitive decline, dietary factors and gut-brain interactions. [2013]
• Chronic functional bowel syndrome enhances gut-brain axis dysfunction, neuroinflammation, cognitive impairment, and vulnerability to dementia.[2014]  “awareness of pathophysiological impact of IBS and implementation of appropriate therapeutic measures may prevent cognitive impairment and minimize vulnerability to dementia.“
• “evidence on the ability of the gut microbiota to communicate with the brain and thus modulate behavior” The microbiota-gut-brain axis: neurobehavioral correlates, health and sociality.[2013]

We also see the microbiome changing “above the age of 55-65 y, populations of bifidobacteria are known to decrease markedly”[2012],  bifidobacteria decline is also seen in CFS.

•  “revealed that skin bacterial composition differed by age” Nested PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of human skin microbial diversity withage.[2014]
• “Our results indicated that antibiotic resistance genes in the human gut microbiota accumulate from childhood to adulthood and become more complex with age.” DNA microarray analysis reveals that antibiotic resistance-gene diversity in human gut microbiotais age related.[2014]
• ” Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species were observed to be decreased in adults,” [2013]
• “Comparison of intestinal microbiota composition between adolescents and adults revealed a statistically significantly higher abundance of genera Bifidobacterium and Clostridium among adolescent sample” Distal gut microbiota of adolescent children is different from that of adults.[2011]

From this study [2013] we have the top left image showing a major shift of the microbiome with age.

Meta-analyses of studies of the human microbiota

Bottom Line

I believe that the supplementation by various probiotics, especially Bifidobacterium and Prescript-Assist, shifts my gut to a younger profile and thus restore me to better than I was. All speculation, but something to consider.

If you are dealing with someone suffering from mild dementia or cognitive issues, you may wish to see if appropriate probiotic supplementation will help. A good starting point may be to get their microbiome via ubiome.com or AmericanGut.org.