Event Report | Yakult UK Symposium ‘ As once pondered by Arthur Dent (that
Geriatricians pick up the straws from the camel until it can stand up again. – Professor Dermot Power
’
famous galactic hitchhiker) – is 42 really the meaning of life? This was one of the many intriguing points in the opening talk from Professor Dermot Power (a consultant in Geriatric Medicine at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin) on the theory of ageing. He revealed a surprising fact: whilst a higher percentage of us now reach old age, our maximum lifespan remains unchanged. So what influences the ageing process? Professor Power explained current theories: the influence of height (a shorter height may be associated with a longer life expectancy), biological clocks, pre-determined number of cell divisions and DNA damage. In the body, energy is usually invested in reproduction not repair, and this prioritisation allows genetic errors to accumulate and promote ageing.
Whilst the
ability to repair DNA may slow ageing, this cannot be the whole picture as it has been reported that survivors of atomic bombs, who may have DNA damage, often have reduced rates of cancer. This and similar observations have led to the theory of ‘hormesis’, which postulates that small effects of damaging agents at a cellular and genetic level can actually toughen the body overall. As people get older, diseases often present
‘
atypically, causing greater morbidity and mortality. Once reaching the age of 65, it is currently estimated that individuals have a greater than 50 per cent chance of spending some of their later years in a nursing home. Gastrointestinal (GI) problems are common in nursing home residents, with at least 75 per cent suffering from constipation and requiring the use of laxatives. With the developing world also rapidly reaching the same situation, this presents multiple challenges in this relatively new field of medicine. Some of the major GI problems for older people are constipation and diarrhoea, as explained by Professor Ian Rowland (University of Reading). However, the aetiology of these disorders can be complex and multi-factorial. In reviewing the relevant probiotic evidence, he showed that there have been at least 17 studies which used probiotics for constipation and transit time (TT), 12 of which have shown benefit in both areas. Evidence is also strong for some probiotics in the area of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. Another major issue for older people is the
The mucosal
immune system sees more antigens in one day than the systemic system over the whole of a lifetime. – Professor Claudio Nicoletti
decline in their immune function. Professor Rowland’s talk featured a number of studies that have investigated the effect of probiotics on the incidence, severity and duration of colds and respiratory infections and norovirus infections (a cause of gastroenteritis) in the elderly. In general, probiotics were associated with improved activity of specific immune cells and, in most cases, significant reduction of duration or severity of symptoms. The morning session continued with this
50 | Complete Nutrition Vol.10 No.6 December/January 2010/11 ’
immune focus. Professor Mike Gleeson (Loughborough University) described the increased risk of colds and gastrointestinal problems faced by athletes. Prolonged, intense
exercise (>90 mins) increases production of stress hormones and free radicals; this can suppress immune cell activity. When this is combined with the stress and anxiety of competitions and the increased exposure to pathogens, an athlete’s risk of infection is often considerably higher than that of a relatively sedentary individual. After some rather disconcerting images of common GI problems experienced by athletes (30% of distance runners suffer from ‘runner’s trots’…) the evidence for probiotic benefits was reviewed. A variety of effects have been illustrated in recent studies, including reductions in incidence and severity of URTI symptoms, increased immune cell function and activity and decreased GI discomfort. The rather complex topic of allergies was then
tackled by Professor Claudio Nicoletti (Institute of Food Research) who started by giving a comprehensible and clear explanation of the gut- associated immune system. He emphasised the need for effective therapies for allergy sufferers; around three to five per cent of the adult population across Europe suffer from IgE-mediated food allergy, and cases of severe immune reactions to foods are rising rapidly. It has been demonstrated repeatedly that the microbiota of allergic individuals differs from non-allergic ones, but a major ‘chicken or egg’ question still not fully answered is whether this is the cause or effect of allergy. Professor Nicoletti showed recent research by his group with the L. casei Shirota strain showing down-regulation of an allergic response in a small human trial. He concluded by discussing the potential of ‘designer probiotics’ as a delivery system for anti-allergy therapeutic agents – there was a need for this research, he said, because unfortunately ‘God is not a post-doc in our lab’. In recent years there have been many
attention-grabbing headlines from the media about probiotics such as ‘Fat? Blame the bugs in your guts’ and ‘… Can [probiotics] clean up your skin?’. Professor Bob Rastall (Head of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading) answered the challenge of deciphering and explaining the science behind such headlines. He showed a selection of articles in press or on the web, and tried to drill into the research studies that originally
sparked the story. One set of
newspaper articles, speculating on whether there was a link between the gut microbiota and obesity, originated from a collection of studies, with one showing that transplanting the gut bacteria from obese to control mice resulted in an increase in body fat percentage in the control mice. These data might suggest that the microbiota in an obese state may promote a more efficient extraction of energy from nutrients that reach the colon, which might influence weight gain in an individual. Human trials have not shown any weight gain associated with probiotic intake, and there are positive results emerging from studies into obesity-related disorders. After highlighting a number of headlines that have repeatedly used old interviews and quotes from experts in the field
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