IBD – is there something in the air?
Infl ammatory bowel disease (IBD) develops as a result of a complex interaction between genes, microbes and the environment. Researchers now have a new environmental suspect that is part of this complex interaction, and that suspect is air pollution. Given the established evidence of the impact of air pollution on the lungs, they are examining whether air pollution has the same harmful eff ect on the gut.
“We have seen a signifi cant eff ect of air pollution on the lungs,” says Leigh Beamish, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and the recipient of a 2010 CCFC summer student scholarship to study the link between air pollution and intestinal disease.
“Knowing how particles can transfer from the lungs to the gut, it seemed the logical next step is to look at what the eff ects would be on the gut from air pollution.”
T e intestine is exposed to air pollutants in various ways. Air pollutants can contaminate the food we eat and the water we drink, or can contaminate the food and water supply of livestock, for example. Pollutants are inhaled when we breathe and are absorbed through the blood stream to the gut or cleared by airway cilia and then ingested into the body.
Epidemiological studies point to the link between exposure to air pollution and the development of IBD. Indeed, IBD prevalence is greater in urban areas, where there is greater air pollution, than it is in rural areas where the air is cleaner.
Laboratory research is aiming to “bridge the gap” between cells in the petri dish and epidemiological studies that suggest the link between air pollution and IBD, according to Beamish.
Future experiments will likely take the form of animal model studies where mice would be exposed to particulate matter found in air pollution, which would include materials like heavy metals and diesel exhaust, and that extract would be added to animals’ drinking water or injected directly into the gut.
T ere are some key pathways in the gut such 12 The Journal EDITION 3 | 2011
as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or TNF- alpha, and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells, commonly referred to as NF-kappa B, that researchers plan to follow to see how they are expressed after exposure to air pollution, according to Dr. Eytan Wine, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Physiology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
“Air pollution is a huge contributing factor that we do not know that much about (in terms of the impact on the gut),” says Dr. Wine, who supervised Leigh Beamish’s research.
Dr. Wine notes that the gut is a more complicated system than the airway system. Whereas the lungs are sterile, the gut is replete with microbes, which interact with air pollutants.
“T e type of exposure is very diff erent,” says Dr. Wine. “T ere is a clear interaction between the air pollutants, gut microbes, and the epithelial and immune cells, which makes it more complex in that setting. T is is why we can’t take what we know from the lungs and apply it to the gut, but there are defi nitely lessons learned that are worth investigating.”
50 billion 100% probiotic bacteria per bottle
Contributes to improving digestive health Strengthens your natural defenses Promotes the balance of intestinal flora Certified gluten free and supported by clinical studies Recommended by health professionals.
At home. While travelling or on the go. Capsule.
REGULAR
12.5 billion bacteria. Maintains the balance of your intestinal flora
STRONG
25 billion bacteria. Strengthens your natural defenses
EXTRA STRENGTH
50 billion bacteria. Protects against harmful bacteria
biokplus.com | 1 800 593-2465
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16