Exploring the Gut-Brain Connection and Photosensitivity

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This makes me wonder about why you'd choose to bury your lobbying in a support forum for patients who aren't researchers rather than a forum where only researchers hang out? A medical or science forum would not only put you in contact with the community you say you want to reach, but also with people who would teach you how understand the stuff you're researching.

http://aspher.org/pg/profile/yrforum
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/ngrf/
https://www.alzforum.org/login?destination=my-alzforum

Remember the context of the forum you are posting in. If you were posting all this, using the language you have used, in a forum for scientists, you wouldn't have too much of an ethical problem. But you are posting in a forum for epilepsy patients who're in dire need of proper treatment. The number of people who know how to question and pick apart poor studies is not all that high, so when you say, "We know that the gut is the origin of epilepsy because 'This Study'", a lot of patients will start to believe it. When you say, "The rate of success for anti-convulsant therapy is incredibly low,' a lot of people will take it at face value instead of checking the numbers for themselves to find that you are wrong. When you say, "Take these pills for anorexia," someone might do it, and become very ill. You're saying these things in an ecosystem of new diagnoses who are terrified about what their future will look like. Among them are people like myself, who most definitely have epilepsy that originates in the brain. If I came across your statement about anti-convulsants and medical treatments being largely unsuccessful in my early diagnosis when I was stressed and terrified beyond belief already, you'd have pushed me over the edge.

It'd be more ethical to check your facts properly, and to use less certain language when you're presenting studies that haven't been replicated on humans or statistics that you don't understand. You've presented an enormous amount of opinion in this thread, about everything from anorexia to drugs to blood sugar levels, from diabetes to heart disease to cancer. Not even a trained medical professional is willing to offer opinions to patients on all of these things single handedly. That's why we're sent to specialists who practice in the field of neurology, or cardiology, or oncology. Yet you use language that suggests you know more than all these medical specialists combined, in an environment where patients who are very ill hang out looking for suggestions for their treatment.

I'm also concerned that you think you can help people with epilepsy without an understanding of what epilepsy is? You've researched all your gut-origin premises without ever having researched what a seizure disorder is. When you're shooting a burglar in a pitch black room full of people, you're more likely to hurt people than to help them. You have to turn on the light, or let the guy steal the silver. You need to know what you're doing before your suggestions can stop being dangerous to patients.

We do make suggestions to one another in this forum, but you'll see that we're clear about the context of those suggestions: "My doctor said x but it didn't help', 'My doctor did this and it helped', 'I don't know if this is true but X, so ask your doctor about it", "I found this study. It says there might be a link between carrots and epilepsy. I wonder how it will turn out or whether it's true. What's your opinion?" In other words, we speak as though we are not doctors, because we aren't doctors.

You're also not reading the studies you post or properly researching their context, which wouldn't be a problem if you weren't suggesting to patients that they follow your suggestions. But if you are going to post studies around patients, please give everyone the respect of reading them and researching their background. The lasseiz-faire attitude you've displayed thus far with the studies you present doesn't have respect, compassion, or concern, for the patients here.

There's no trouble with lobbying for research in a group of researchers, and there are many, many forums for researchers, none of which you're using for your lobbying. There is trouble with treating patients, and telling patients things you don't understand. There is trouble lobbying for research in a community of patients without paying attention to the honesty of your language.
 
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Firstly, kirsten, I feel I've been quite balanced and guarded in my statements here and quite concerned about safety for readers. I've witnessed and was caretaker during dozens of seizure clusters lasting days at a time and quite sensitive about the well-being of others.

Please let's give this forum credit it deserves. If there is a group more interested in epilepsy anywhere on the internet, I'd like to know about it. Moreover, there have been opportunities to speak directly with scientists on this forum, such as Paulo Mainardi on this spectacular thread:
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f22/does-tryptophan-help-prevent-seizures-5183/

I've learned quite a lot from people here. The moderators are quite active and knowledgeable and would have deleted statements if irresponsible. I also believe in the power of the patient to promote medical choices with their doctors. I'm constantly hearing such stories of doctors listening to patients from this wonderful, gifted Facebook group, Diets For Epilepsy where I'm an active member:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DietsForEpilepsy/

That group does include professionals in the field. There may be professionals in the field on this forum, as well, though I haven't seen them. Perhaps they should be invited to participate!
 
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Firstly, kirsten, I feel I've been quite balanced and guarded in my statements here and quite concerned about safety for readers.
Keep in mind that all the information you're offering here is done without knowledge of epilepsy. That, in itself, is dangerous. You just can't possibly have any certainty about anything you've posted without a foundational knowledge of epilepsy and seizure disorders. Trying to tell us what a better treatment would be without that knowledge is risky. As you know from your own painful event, just one seizure can kill someone. We thus need to be extremely cautious when it comes to offering suggestions and advice to epilepsy patients--one day without treatment, or with the wrong treatment, can kill. Posting trials while saying the colour green makes cancer fatal, when the trial says that eating grass might make metastases more likely in rats causes confusion among readers who don't know how to read those trials. (obviously, I'm paraphrasing). Posting white papers and press releases without tracing back to their sources leads to misunderstanding among readers. And this is how you've handled your trials.

Here are some of the statements that I consider to be unbalanced, unguarded, dangerous, lacking concern for the safety of readers, and engendering fear in epilepsy patients who are newly diagnosed and needing to hear only the truth about their prognosis. I'm trying to make this as short as I can so I'm cutting it down to examples of common postings.

doctors are clueless and can only prescribe anticonvulsants without addressing underlying cause.
Untrue. Doctors are not clueless, and they can do more than prescribe anticonvulsants, and they do address the underlying cause.

For doctors not to know this and/or have nothing to offer their patients when drugs don't work is sadly absurd. That's when people need to begin to be responsible for their own health.
Unbalanced. Untrue: Doctors offer many other excellent treatments when drugs don't work, although drugs usually do work. Possible response from unquestioning reader with new epilepsy diagnosis: My doctor doesn’t know anything and can’t help me. I must be responsible for my own treatment. If my anti-convulsants don’t work, I won't have any other options. Hand me a noose.
My point is vitamin D deficiency isn't about sunlight or even diet, but intestinal nutrient malabsorption,
Many of us have vitamin D deficiencies and our D levels improve with D supplementation. The risk is that patients may stop taking their D supplements in favour of your suggestions. Left with low D levels, bone density problems develop, and osteomalacia/rheumatoid arthritis ensues. Are you willing to take away a treatment that clearly works in order to leave us at risk for a lifelong disease that severely affects quality of life? Or would you rather like to suggest that we ask the opinions of our doctors about the view you've put across?

Karen, I feel basically clueless, wondering if it's best to add probiotics or use natural antibiotics like propolis, oregano oil and colloidal silver. Maybe both approaches simultaneously, spaced a few hours apart. At the same time, I wonder if a low histamine diet would be effective in decreasing photosensitive seizure, maybe even trying Histame or some other DAO enzyme product to break down histamine.
Treating anorexia with colloidal silver and supplements is very dangerous. A profile that assesses exactly which specific deficiencies exist must be done, and measured according to weight and height. Hyponatremia and hypokalemia must be tested for and treated. Zinc, iron, thiamin and other supplementation is dangerous. Refeeding is done first via IV, with monitoring for oedema, and is done to achieve precise weight gain numbers per week. If you feel basically clueless, better not to offer medical advice, no?

There's a reason anticonvulsants are ineffective in such a large percentage of epileptics (over 50%?). They're missing the target.
Untrue. Engenders fear.

In my experience with a seizing dog, gelatin halted clusters to one seizure, but fasting was crucial.
Fasting induces seizures. Seizures increase SUDEP risk and risk of status epilepticus is high.

Once when my dog was in the middle of a seizure cluster, I gave her a small amount of broth with a lot of sea salt. She all of a sudden became completely normal and played ball like a puppy in the backyard.
Epilepsy patients often have hyponatremia or underlying SIADH. Salt loading can cause coma and death, odeama, new seizure focuses, status epilepticus.

Please let's give this forum credit it deserves. If there is a group more interested in epilepsy anywhere on the internet, I'd like to know about it. Moreover, there have been opportunities to speak directly with scientists on this forum, such as Paulo Mainardi on this spectacular thread:

Scientists or one scientist in post doc? The vast majority of the forum are patients. The choice to post in a forum of patients rather than one of researchers is yours, but if posting in a forum of patients, please remember your context. Patients don't always have critical skills and are highly likely to follow suggestions without a thought. People at CWE can and do stop their treatment without weaning, which is why members always advise other members not to take our suggestions without seeing their doctors, and to stay on their medications. People can and do take on naturopathic treatments thinking they're harmless merely because they're natural. As mentioned above, these can be deadly in certain scenarios. Only a doctor knows when these treatments are safe in patients with epilepsy who are on AEDs, so we don't take the roles of doctors here. Why you'd lobby to a forum of patients where one post doc once existed rather than to a group of hundreds of scientists...I don't know, but that is your choice. But lobbying to scientists is very different from lobbying to scientists from a support forum for patients. And if you are lobbying, it would probably be useful to put your reason for posting here in your signature so that we understand the context of what you're doing. Otherwise readers will think you're talking to them when you're actually talking to scientists.

As a marketing grad, you must have done at least some business law and marketing ethics around native marketing. As both a lobbyist and a for-profit business owner working in the field of sanitation marketed through the data you're posting here, you will only be looking at one part of epilepsy: gut origin, microbes, leaky gut, and other naturopathic things benefiting your cause. As a result, your posts can't reflect a holistic view of epilepsy to patients--they won't contain studies about the efficacy of other treatments, or about surgery, or about the success of medical treatment. That's why it's important that you declare that you're a lobbyist and a for profit business owner. Native marketing has changed with the internet, and the FTC has changed its law to make room for this kind of issue. Lobbyists and business owners are, in the act, considered advertisers.
"If an enterprise passively hides its identity as an enterprise, with the result that the trading counterparts have no clues to judge or cannot reasonably anticipate that the information provided is being promoted by the enterprise, and [falsely] believe that such information is in the form of opinions from ordinary third parties, it is a violation of Article 24 of the FTA.3 The Amendment expressly sets forth that “social media site postings” refer to both postings on blogs and forums."

The moderators are quite active and knowledgeable and would have deleted statements if irresponsible.
Censorship is rather a serious thing, even on social media, so people tend to hold off on doing it. It’d be highly unlikely that anyone would delete your posts or anyone else's. Moderators here have asked you to be more responsible, though.

As for the gut-brain connection, Keith -- it's okay to "think aloud", but please remember to emphasize that the science is new, inconclusive and/or speculative.
Keith, thanks for understanding that when people (who have heard a large range of ideas) want real proof when it comes to our disorder. As it has been pointed out, one or two unrepeatable instances aren't proof. .
Keith, time & time & time again you've been told how different rodents brains are from humans. Both your studies are on rodents & neither makes any mention of using controls.
It would be great if you can show double blind studies to back up your claims, and not rely on one-off mentions of possible seizure triggers.
 
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. There may be professionals in the field on this forum, as well, though I haven't seen them. Perhaps they should be invited to participate!

I agree. Part of is, I guess, what neurologist would have time to participate in a forum but perhaps there is one (or two) who can be recruited to respond in particular threads, such as this one.
 
Gut bacteria and brain function: The challenges of a growing field
http://www.pnas.org/content/109/4/E175.full

Prebiotic or antimicrobial-mediated production of microbiota influencing the vagus nerve might not just affect mood but might also lower the propensity for brain seizures, because vagus nerve stimulation has therapeutic benefits in epilepsy.

This is a new field for everyone, doctors and scientists included. Most people are still unaware that the gut-brain connection even exists. And most doctors don't give it the weight it deserves . . . yet.
To my knowledge, there are very few studies (if any!) associating flora shift with the ketogenic diet as underlying mechanism of success, but they are coming . . .

kirsten, thanks so much for following this thread and for doing your best to protect readers and especially yourself, much appreciated. But there's really no need to shoot the messenger.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_lady_doth_protest_too_much,_methinks
 
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I've been considering electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) from a gut-brain perspective.

"Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), formerly known as electroshock therapy, is a standard psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in patients to provide relief from psychiatric illnesses."

ECT has also ironically been used to treat epilepsy. What's the mechanism of success?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16876485
http://www.neurology.org/content/49/5/1389
http://www.epilepsyresearch.org.uk/electric-shock-therapy-could-help-epilepsy-patients/

There's also concern about ECT patients possibly developing epilepsy:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105913110600224X
http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/43/12/1098.full.pdf

Here's the possible gut-brain connection with ECT: LIPIDS

Induced and spontaneous seizures in man produce increases in regional brain lipid detected by in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1636496
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1952832
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2178328
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-3426-6_23#page-1

So, how do free fatty acids (FFAs) and endocannabinoid lipids of the gut affect the brain? I posted about these things earlier in the thread, including how FFAs may dysregulate blood sugar balance connected to insulin resistance. And also how bacteria may be known to stimulate release of cannabinoids such as arachindonic acid derived from anandamide. It seems the mechanism of success with cannabis oil is as antagonist of endogenous cannabinoids. In other words, cannabis oil may bind CB receptors in the brain before the gut-derived lipids do, interrupting seizure activity.
 
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We've just discovered that Jonathan has an IgA deficiency. He was having a lot of labs run because he's been very "off" lately -- in pain, highly agitated, etc. (and being non-verbal, he can't tell us what he's feeling, except that he's feeling like crap) -- thankfully no seizures. Anyway, I discovered when reviewing his early lab reports that his pediatrician had ordered a Celiac test, which I thought was absurd, because he's been on the Ketogenic diet for 3 years, and hasn't consumed any gluten during that time. However, the 2nd part of that test just came back, and it turns out Jon's levels of IgA are quite low.

I'm just starting to research what that means -- and it's implications -- IgA is an antibody that protect the nasal and gastrointestinal tract -- and a deficiency in this antibody is associated with epilepsy, chronic gut problems, Celiac disease, Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis, malabsorbtion, auto-immune disease, chronic sinus problems, autism, etc.

http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/home/eng/immunedeficiencies.asp
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001476.htm
http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Immunodeficiency-(Primary-and-Secondary).htm

Some cases of epilepsy are associated with primary IgA (and occasionally IgG) deficiency. Paradoxically, deficiency in antibodies can actually lead to auto-immune disease. A low IgA level may indicate the presence of anti-IgA antibody. The types of "autoimmune epilepsy" include Rasmussen's Encephalitis, Landau-Kleffner, Lennox Gastaut, and infantile spasms, systemic lupus erythematosus with neurological involvement. Autoimmune Epilepsy is often concurrent with Crohn’s disease and Celiac disease and also highly resistant to AEDs.
http://www.epilepsygroup.com/notes6-35-38/new_patient.php
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3177549/
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00312963

Individuals with Epilepsy taking AEDs have a high rate of drug-induced IgA deficiency. 21% in adults and 42% in children.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1259644
 
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Interesting that there might be an underlying deficiency that could play a role in "autoimmune epilepsy" and other illnesses. If I remember right, I think there have been a few CWE members with co-occurring lupus; perhaps testing in their cases would reveal the same IgA deficiency found in Jon. I wonder how widespread such a variant might be. Wouldn't it be terrific if there were a comprehensive worldwide epilepsy database with that kind of information?

Good to hear that Jon's still seizure-free. I hope he gets back on track and feels better soon.
 
Interesting that there might be an underlying deficiency that could play a role in "autoimmune epilepsy" and other illnesses. If I remember right, I think there have been a few CWE members with co-occurring lupus; perhaps testing in their cases would reveal the same IgA deficiency found in Jon. I wonder how widespread such a variant might be. Wouldn't it be terrific if there were a comprehensive worldwide epilepsy database with that kind of information?
.

IgA deficiency presents in about 1:300 of the regular population. Varying studies indicate an average of about 1:30 in the SLE (lupus) population. So, while a small number of SLE sufferers have IgA deficiency, it's 10 times higher in the SLE population than in the regular pop.

There's a certain antibody that's associated with both lupus and epilepsy: "Anti-NMDA-NR2A/B antibodies are present in a substantial number of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) with or without neuropsychiatric problems. The exact percentage of SLE patients having anti-NMDA-NR2A/B antibodies varies in different studies from 14 to 35 %, and in one study such antibodies were found in 81 % of patients with diffuse 'Neuropshychiatric SLE', and in 44 % of patients with focal 'Neuropsychiatric SLE'."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25081016
 
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Karen, are you using any probiotics with Jonathan?

This review summarizes the reciprocal interactions between intestinal B cells and bacteria, specifically, the formation of IgA in the gut, the role of intestinal IgA in the regulation of bacterial communities and the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis, and the effects of probiotics on IgA levels in the gastrointestinal tract.
Communication between B-Cells and Microbiota for the Maintenance of Intestinal Homeostasis
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4468/2/4/535

supplementation with the probiotic, Bifidobacterium lactis, augments the IgA level in stools [101,102].
Here's an example of a probiotic with Bifidobacterium lactis (I've been testing this one as preventative):
http://www.vitacost.com/metagenics-ultra-flora-plus-balance

The prebiotic GOS feeds bifidobacteria. Beans, especially lentils, are a good food source, but it's also available in supplement form. GOS may also be combined with probiotics in some products.

Bifidobacteria produce lactate feeding clostridium to make butyrate, so I wondered about possible low clostridia clusters IV and XIVa known to produce butyrate. This study found butyrate didn't affect IgA levels, but I'm not sure about their methods as the butyrate may not have reached the small intestine where Peyer's patches "are the main inductive sites for gut IgA responses":
http://journals.lww.com/eurojgh/Abs...emas_do_not_affect_human_colonic_MUC2.15.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500999/?report=classic

Butyrate is crucial, though it's also possible to have too much. This is currently the only probiotic on the shelf containing clostridium bacteria which produce butyrate (the next step would be fecal transplant):
[ame][/ame]

Resistant starch in the diet feeds the butyrate-producing microbes. Things like tubers, green banana flour, plantains, raw potato starch. Cooling for 24 hours in the refrigerator after cooking raises resistant starch; this also applies to beans.

Another thing to consider are the SBO probiotics like Prescript-Assist as they also make butyrate. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Prescript-assist-Spectrum-Probiotic-Prebiotic-Capsules/dp/B00JB2GOFI"]Amazon.com: Prescript-assist Broad Spectrum Probiotic Prebiotic Complex 60 Capsules (60 Caps): Health & Personal Care@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41g5PWDOlGL.@@AMEPARAM@@41g5PWDOlGL[/ame]

Note: be very careful with probiotics as they can cause seizure in some people; best to begin with very small doses and increase over time. Probiotics rapidly caused seizure with my dog. It was only after a month of Rifaximin that she was able to withstand large doses of probiotics.
 
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"Microbes have the capacity to manipulate behavior and mood through altering the neural signals in the vagus nerve . . . Targeting the microbiome could open up possibilities for preventing a variety of disease from obesity and diabetes to cancers of the gastro-intestinal tract. We are only beginning to scratch the surface of the importance of the microbiome for human health."
Do gut bacteria rule our minds? In an ecosystem within us, microbes evolved to sway food choices
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140815192240.htm

We review several potential mechanisms for microbial control over eating behavior including microbial influence on reward and satiety pathways, production of toxins that alter mood, changes to receptors including taste receptors, and hijacking of the vagus nerve, the neural axis between the gut and the brain.
Is eating behavior manipulated by the gastrointestinal microbiota? Evolutionary pressures and potential mechanisms
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bies.201400071/abstract
 
Note to Karen:
I've stumbled on the idea that lactobacillus raise IgA levels. So, perhaps lactobacillus probiotics of the right strain would be a good thing. It's important to research what may be the right strains of lactobacillus.

My basic understanding is lactobacillus can raise IL-6 which raises IgA. Bifidobacteria are known to lower IL-6, but they can also raise IgA dependent on strain.
http://www.microbecolhealthdis.net/index.php/mehd/article/view/7838
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1391937/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2786548
http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/293/3/R1169
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/11/177

Also, on page 22 of this thread posted 5/20/14, I explored lactic acid and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as potential mechanism for balancing blood sugar:
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com...onnection-photosensitivity-22787/index22.html
 
Lots of discussion about epilepsy related to sulfur deficiency in this paper about autism. I believe sulfur deficiency is about microbial imbalance where diet can help. Author, Stephanie Seneff, talks a lot about gut imbalances caused by Roundup, vaccines . . . and in this paper she describes a reason for seizure: "This is where high fever and seizures play an important role, in providing the necessary energy to catalyze the production of sulfate from sulfur-containing precursor molecules such as homocysteine, 3-mercaptopyruvate, and, especially, taurine." Still reading:
http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/1/372

Note to Shelley: ran across this page that makes sense from your perspective about nicotine lowering niacinamide (instead of raising it which I used to believe, so I'm learning!). As opposed to the view that nicotine converts to nicotinamide: "One of the ways by which nicotine causes detrimental effects in humans is that it has a similar structure to nicotinamide and can interfere with the absorption and incorporation of the vitamin . . . Nicotine competes with nicotinamide for the binding sites in the enzymes needed for the absorption of nicotinamide, thereby lowering the amounts of nicotinamide available to cells. Figure J-5 shows a diagram depicting the competition between nicotinamide and nicotine. This competition results in the depletion of NAD molecules that the cell needs to produce energy. This is one of the reasons why smoking can worsen the condition of people with mitochondrial dysfunction." http://web.stanford.edu/group/hopes/cgi-bin/wordpress/2010/06/nicotinamide/
 
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Lots of discussion about epilepsy related to sulfur deficiency in this paper about autism. I believe sulfur deficiency is about microbial imbalance where diet can help. Author, Stephanie Seneff, talks a lot about gut imbalances caused by Roundup, vaccines . . . and in this paper she describes a reason for seizure: "This is where high fever and seizures play an important role, in providing the necessary energy to catalyze the production of sulfate from sulfur-containing precursor molecules such as homocysteine, 3-mercaptopyruvate, and, especially, taurine." Still reading:
http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/1/372

A couple problems with that post. First off you should see that valid medical journals like JAMA, NEJM or BMJ don't charge scientists to post their research. It's posted because the science is perceived as possibly significant. Entropy is one of those sites that charges people to basically advertise for them. It isn't even a medical journal & is rated very lowly or quality.
But they got peer reviewed, right? Let's talk about the journal in which they published -- Entropy. Is it a medical journal? No! Is it a general science journal like Nature or Science? No! It is a multi-disciplinary journal that covers "general aspects of entropy and a few other thing like information theory, artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, evolution, and so on. Well, I think we've found our motive for the journal accepting a paper by Seneff, even though it discusses a topic they do not address. Among some of those topics, a paper written by her would give the journal some credibility. Wait! The journal has no credibility!? Well, it has a little bit in a few very specific topics. Let's examine the impact factor compared against the more prestigious medical journals.

The Lancet - 38.278
Cell - 32.403
Brittish Medical Journal - 13.471
Entropy - 1.183


Not even close. As many of my readers should already know. Peer review is a necessary, but insufficent, step in a research topic being declared scientifically accurate. The next step is for me to check the citations. Has anyone cited this paper in further studies? This is important because citations serve as independent endorsements of a paper's content. Since this paper is very newly published in a very obscure journal, it has zero citations.
http://www.tanoro.com/blog/05252013-stephanie-seneff-roundup-leaky-guts

As for Stephanie Seneff, apparently she's known to be a quack & has no training in the field of her claims.
Stephanie Seneff is a senior research scientist at MIT. Based in the university's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Seneff's focus is, according to her web page, "the intersection of biology and computation." She is also, according to many in the science community, a "quack," meaning a poseur at the business of science, and a practitioner of pseudoscience.
http://www.disclose.tv/news/Meet_th...se_of_gluten_intolerance/100917#ixzz3D9MpDULx

First, let's talk about the author, Stephanie Seneff, PhD. The first thing I want to know is whether or not she has any credibility in the medical or biochemistry disciplines that would apply to this claim. She claims to have a PhD and 30 years of experience. A quick Google search provided the people search directory at MIT, where Seneff claims to work. Sure enough! She is there in the...Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory? Eh...

Stephanie Seneff is a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. She received the B.S. degree in Biophysics in 1968, the M.S. and E.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1980, and the Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1985, all from MIT. For over three decades, her research interests have always been at the intersection of biology and computation developing a computational model for the human auditory system, understanding human language so as to develop algorithms and systems for human computer interactions, as well as applying natural language processing (NLP) techniques to gene predictions. She has published over 170 refereed articles on these subjects...

The people search at MIT is a bit like a user search at Wikipedia. You can decorate it with all kinds of stuff that you attribute to work there. Seneff's page has some research that is actually within her discipline, but she has a section set aside for her personal research into nutrition in disease for which she has no training, no experience, and no academic credibility. The page is full of information complaining about GMO's, so we're dealing with an activist here -- someone with a personal bias.

In other words, if you want to design a new system for human speech recognition, give her a call. She has no degree or experience in medicine or biochemistry. None! Seneff has stuck her fingers into medicine and health before and got her hand slapped by Dr. David Gorski for being out of her element. She is not a medical doctor. She is not a biochemist. She is a nobody in the field in which she is making claims about Roundup and health. She has, in short, zero credibility and has no business running around and saying that her personally biased research is true. Science doesn't work that way. Dishonest pseudoscience does this ad nauseum.
I would definitely take this "research" with a grain (or shaker) of salt.
 
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Another note to Karen about raising IgA: It appears bifidobacteria are more important that lactobacillus in this regard. That's one reason bifodobacteria are such an important part of breast milk leading to bifidobacteria becoming up to 90% of the infant intestinal microbiome. There are many strains of bifidobacteria, some better than others for this purpose (maybe Bifidobacterium longum is thought best). Recall we also talked about almonds as prebiotic raising bifidobacteria and lactobacillus on page 22.

Bifidobacteria interact with host cells in Peyer's patches of intestines to stimulate release of IgA. Bifidobacteria also have anti-inflammatory properties.
http://www.microbecolhealthdis.net/index.php/mehd/article/view/7838
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC368237/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3081045/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000887491300052X
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030291782726

Inulin and some types of resistant starch also feed bifidobacteria:
http://journals.cambridge.org/actio...e=online&aid=3870204&fileId=S0007114508019880
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24056635


Now this is quite interesting regarding Bifidobacteria found to metabolize phenobarbital to a toxic substance possibly affecting surrounding organisms. Might balancing flora be a mechanism of success in phenobarbital?!
The metabolism of phenobarbital, a drug used for epilepsy, by intestinal flora, Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Bifidobacterium bifidum
http://www.microbecolhealthdis.net/index.php/mehd/article/view/7696
 
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It seems that since this a new field of study, it has been linked to almost every malady currently experienced by anybody and everybody.
Autism was vaccine related, now it's nutritionally related.
Not very helpful.
 
Shelley, autism is now more than ever linked with vaccine injury. Seizure disorders caused by vaccination are well-known, though some believe when vaccination leads to seizure disorder the reason is genetic in disregard of microbial regulation of our genes. Doctors identify gene mutation such as Dravet syndrome after vaccination and state the individual would have become epileptic regardless. What's underestimated is how microbes turn genes on and off like light switches.

Autism is treated nutritionally with some success because it's gut-driven. There are no studies about how any of the childhood vaccines affect flora balance or any studies about how the infant microbiome may predispose to vaccine injury. I wrote an article about it on another website, I'm not allowed to post it here, no worries.
 
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Thanks for asking, Slim, as I've not researched it before and it would take days to cover, but here are a few.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/09/peds.2014-0690.abstract
https://litigation-essentials.lexis...cid=3B15&key=65eab729b493172b12f6dd21ba41d881
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/133/6/e1492.short
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1752-1947-7-66.pdf
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...sCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false
http://www.epilepsycurrents.org/doi/pdf/10.5698/1535-7511-14.s2.12

Vaccine injury is probably the hottest topic in medicine today with the autism epidemic where a huge percentage of autistic children are also epileptic; I've read 50% in the worst cases of autism. You may not believe vaccination can cause autism and that's not a subject for this forum, but vaccine injury is real and autism is even listed as side effect of the DTaP vaccine in the package insert. Seizure after vaccination is all too common and it's not such a stretch to accept that long-term seizure disorder caused by some vaccines exists.

I believe the mechanism of childhood vaccine injury is about:
1) damage to flora balance (there are no studies, though the cholera vaccine is known to significantly raise gram-negative bacteria, not a good thing)
2) microbial predisposition leading to vaccine reaction (no studies)

Autism is known to be gut-driven. Isn't it about time the epilepsy industry begin to focus on the gut? Meanwhile, Infantile Spasm experts appear helpless thinking it's all about the brain.
 
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