Latest news with #Odoribacter
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Sleepless Nights? Your Gut Might Be To Blame
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Gut health can impact everything from mental health to the immune system—and it could be behind poor sleep too. Specific types of gut bacteria have now been linked to insomnia risk by researchers from The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University in China. The team found that certain types of bacteria seem to boost or lower the risk of the sleep condition, while insomnia itself may in turn also alter the abundance of certain gut 'bugs'. It is estimated that 12 percent of people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with chronic insomnia, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Insomnia involves difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, lying awake at night and waking up too early—all of which come with daytime symptoms of tiredness and irritability too. Man sitting on the edge of his bed with his hand's in his hands in the middle of the night. Man sitting on the edge of his bed with his hand's in his hands in the middle of the night. Visions/Getty Images While previous studies have explored the effects of the gut microbiome on various sleep characteristics, it is not clear how different groups of gut bacteria might affect the risk of insomnia. The researchers explored data on 386,533 people with insomnia from a previously published genome-wide analysis study, gut microbiome data for 18,340 people from the MiBioGen alliance and for 8,208 people from the Dutch Microbiome Project with (71 groups of bacteria in common). Their analysis revealed associations between specific gut microbes and insomnia. Overall, a total of 14 groups of bacteria were positively associated with insomnia (1–4 percent higher odds) and eight groups showed a negative association (1–3 percent lower odds.) Insomnia itself was associated with a reduction of between 43 percent and 79 percent in the abundance of seven groups of bacteria and a 65 percent to a more than fourfold increase in the abundance of 12 other groups. The Odoribacter class of bacteria, in particular, was significantly associated with the risk of insomnia, the team reported. "Odoribacter plays a role in producing short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which influence inflammation, neurotransmitter balance and circadian regulation," gastroenterologist Lindsey Ann Edwards of King's College London—who was not involved in the present study—told Newsweek. "Interestingly, its effects aren't universally 'good' or 'bad'—it has been shown to have positive or negative impacts depending on the disease in question. Its influence also depends heavily on an individual's overall microbiome composition, because gut bacteria interact as a community. "Through a process called metabolic cross-feeding, one species' waste products can serve as another's fuel, meaning the broader microbial network often determines whether Odoribacter's presence is helpful or harmful." 3D illustration of human intestine and microbiome. 3D illustration of human intestine and researchers note that no pleiotropy—the production by a single gene of two or more apparently unrelated effects—was identified, strengthening the integrity of the findings and implying causation. "It's a fascinating and promising line of research. The link between gut microbiota and sleep is still emerging, and this study adds another important piece to the puzzle," Edwards said. "While it's still early days, the fact that they've identified potential causal relationships makes the findings especially interesting. That said, the results need to be interpreted with caution until confirmed by larger, randomized controlled trials." The study authors said limitations include all participants being of European descent (and the makeup of the microbiome varying among different ethnicities and geographies). Factors like diet and lifestyle, known to affect the microbiome and the interplay between genes and the environment, also weren't accounted for. Edwards explained that while bacteria are linked to insomnia, those same bacteria may themselves be shaped by a person's eating habits, stress levels, and environment. "Diet is one of the strongest influences we know of; for example, the types of fibre and plant diversity in the diet can shift bacterial populations sometimes even within days," Dr. Emily Prpa—a registered nutritionist at Yakult who was also not involved in the study—told Newsweek. "Lifestyle factors such as exercise and alcohol intake also play a role, as do environmental exposures like pollution, medications, social life and geography. Genetics influences the microbiome too, though to a smaller degree than lifestyle. One big omission in this study is stress—it's both a known disruptor of sleep and a factor that can significantly alter the gut microbiome via the gut–brain axis." The researchers concluded that the intertwined effects of insomnia on gut microbiota, and vice versa, represent a complex relationship involving immune regulation, inflammatory response and the release of neurotransmitters, as well as other molecular and cellular pathways. "Our study offers preliminary evidence supporting a causal effect between insomnia and gut microbiota, providing valuable insights for the future development of microbiome-inspired treatment plans for insomnia," the researchers explained in a statement. These could include the use of probiotics, prebiotics, or fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT, transferring healthy gut bacteria via a donor's stool), they said. "In theory—probiotics, prebiotics or FMT could introduce or encourage beneficial bacteria. However, gut ecosystems are complex," Edwards emphasized. "Simply adding 'good' bacteria doesn't guarantee they'll establish themselves or outcompete the 'bad' ones, especially if the underlying causes (like poor diet or chronic stress) remain. Success would likely require a combination of targeted bacteria plus supportive diet and lifestyle changes." Edwards said the next step in this field of research should be well-designed randomized controlled trials to confirm whether modifying gut bacteria can directly improve insomnia symptoms. Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about gut health and sleep? Let us know via health@ Reference Jansen, P. R., Watanabe, K., Stringer, S., Skene, N., Bryois, J., Hammerschlag, A. R., de Leeuw, C. A., Benjamins, J. S., Muñoz-Manchado, A. B., Nagel, M., Savage, J. E., Tiemeier, H., White, T., Tung, J. Y., Hinds, D. A., Vacic, V., Wang, X., Sullivan, P. F., van der Sluis, S., ... Posthuma, D. (2019). Genome-wide analysis of insomnia in 1,331,010 individuals identifies new risk loci and functional pathways. Nature Genetics, 51(3), 394–403. Shi, S., Liu, D., Baranova, A., Cao, H., & Zhang, F. (2025). Investigating bidirectional causal relationships between gut microbiota and insomnia. General Psychiatry, 38, e101855.
Gulf Insider
13-07-2025
- Health
- Gulf Insider
Cambridge Researchers Find Gut Bacteria Could Help Remove 'Forever Chemicals' From Body
Researchers have found that nine species of gut bacteria can help detoxify the body from forever chemicals, rapidly absorbing PFAS linked to cancer and other serious illnesses. 'This uncovers a new beneficial role of gut bacteria for the human health—to help removing toxic PFAS from our body,' senior study author Kiran Patil, a member of the MRC Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, told The Epoch Times. The Cambridge University study, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, identified nine bacterial species that can absorb up to 75 percent of toxic PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—from their surroundings. PFAS are synthetic chemicals used in thousands of consumer products, from nonstick pans and waterproof clothing to cosmetics and food packaging. Dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they resist breaking down in the environment, PFAS accumulate in human bodies and have been linked to various cancers, liver damage, and immune system disorders. Currently, there are no approved treatments to remove PFAS from the human body, making this discovery potentially significant for public health. The research team identified nine bacterial species—including six in the Bacteroides family, Odoribacter splanchnicus, Parabacteroides distasonis, and Parabacteroides merdae—that can absorb two common types of PFAS: perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). When these bacteria were introduced into mice, they quickly absorbed the chemicals. When they were excreted through the gut, the forever chemicals were removed with them in waste. Within minutes of exposure, the bacteria absorbed between 25 and 74 percent of PFAS chemicals at various concentration levels. The researchers believe the way bacteria collect PFAS into protective clumps inside their cells is a survival mechanism that prevents the chemicals from causing cellular damage. As the mice were exposed to increasing PFAS levels, the bacteria kept removing a steady percentage of the toxins, suggesting they could act as a natural filter in the gut. The effectiveness of this approach depends on the specific type of PFAS compound, Patil said. Short-chain PFAS leave the body quickly through urine. However, long-chain PFAS stay in the body for years and are mostly removed through feces. Therefore, using bacteria works best for PFAS compounds that are primarily eliminated through fecal excretion, according to Patil. The bacteria proved effective even at very low exposure levels similar to those found in European and U.S. water samples, suggesting potential real-world applications. The researchers plan to develop probiotic supplements that could boost these helpful bacteria, offering a new way to reduce PFAS levels in humans. However, while promising, the results have not yet been tested directly in humans. There are always unknown factors between lab studies on mice and real-world applications for humans, Bryan Quoc Le, a food scientist and founder of and principal food consultant at Mendocino Food Consulting, who was not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times. 'Despite this,' he said, 'the study did take a more comprehensive approach, such as using diverse microbial populations that are realistic for humans, and testing with different types of PFAS.' However, he also noted the main challenges with a study like this include not knowing how things change in the long term, how these selected bacteria survive in different microbiomes with different diets and health conditions, and whether the same level of PFAS uptake would occur consistently and reliably. 'Needless to say, this area of research is still developing, so nothing is conclusive for human applicability yet, but it does suggest that further research would be worthwhile,' Le continued. Medical experts urge caution despite the findings. Dr. Joseph Mercola, board-certified family medicine osteopathic physician, not involved in the study, emphasized the importance of careful implementation when introducing new bacterial strains into the human gut. While the bacteria used in the study came from species already found in healthy humans, even familiar microbes can act differently depending on our overall gut balance, immune system, and existing health conditions, he told The Epoch Times. 'The good news is that these species aren't exotic imports; they're already natural residents in many people,' he said. 'Still, scaling up their population through supplements or engineered probiotics could throw off your microbial balance if done recklessly.' Dr. Kham Ali, an emergency medicine physician at Northwell Health in New York and not involved in the study, warned that adding bacteria to our microbiome that store toxic PFAS could have 'unintended consequences,' such as disrupting other beneficial bacteria or affecting how the body processes food and medicine. 'We'd need long-term human studies to understand the safety of such interventions,' he told The Epoch Times.
