Functional recovery outcomes following acute stroke is associated with abundance of gut microbiota related to inflammation, butyrate and secondary bile acid.
Tyler C Hammond, Elizabeth Powell, Stefan J Green and 12 others
PMID 36386777WHAT IT FOUND
In 12 stroke patients, gut bacteria linked to inflammation and butyrate differed from controls and showed links to self-care, thinking, self-efficacy, support and pain.
This is association only; it does not show changing gut bacteria improves recovery.
Key findings
01The stroke group had a gut microbial community that differed from both control groups, with lower butyrate, secondary bile acid and equol producers and higher pro-inflammatory bacteria.
02Stool alpha-1-antitrypsin, a marker linked to intestinal permeability, was increased in the stroke group and was associated with several bacterial taxa.
03Among stroke participants, Collinsella aerofaciens was positively associated with self-care scores, and the genus Roseburia was positively associated with picture vocabulary scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 12 stroke patients were studied, so the findings are preliminary. The study cannot show that gut bacteria caused better or worse recovery. Researchers did not have access to cognitive status before stroke or baseline stroke severity. The sample was mostly older white adults from Kentucky. The statistical threshold allowed up to 25% of reported associations to be false positives. The stroke group differed from controls in education, BMI, diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia, and had more APOE ε2 carriers. Diet differed between groups. The stroke group ate less fiber and fruits and vegetables and more sugar-sweetened beverages. Some NIH Toolbox assessments were done by Zoom because of the pandemic. Calprotectin showed no group differences, and the authors suggest this may be because it is less stable at room temperature.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that treating the gut microbiome will improve stroke recovery. The study is a small case-control association analysis, and the authors state it cannot show causation.