Blended and Cross-wired Senses?

            An interesting neurological disorder involving the “cross-wiring” of our senses is called synesthesia. Individuals with synesthesia have simply put, “blended” senses. This means they may see colors when listening to music or associate a word with a specific taste. The most common form of synesthesia is grapheme-color synesthesia, the association of letters and numbers with a distinct color. Although synesthesia is already cool, research shows people with this disorder have better memory, tend to score higher on tests that measure intelligence, and are more creative!

Normally, the processing of our surroundings happens in three steps. Step one is detection, which is just our senses picking up on something around us (e.g. hearing sounds). Step two is signaling, which is our senses sending a signal to our brain describing what they sensed (e.g. how loud a sound is or its pitch). Lastly, processing sends the signal to a more specific part of our brain to understand what was sensed (e.g. recognizing sound as music). If you have synesthesia, your signals get sent to multiple areas of the brain meaning you will get a primary and–at least–one secondary effect. The primary effect is the sense that is actually picked up on your surroundings and the secondary effect(s) are senses that did not get real input. For example, hearing music (primary effect) and seeing colors (secondary effect) as a result. 

This disorder is physically harmless but can take a toll on some people’s mental health. In rare cases, some people do not enjoy the secondary effects of their condition which can cause mental exhaustion or even phantom pain. So, therapy is often recommended for those individuals who become overwhelmed by the constant stimulation of incorrect senses. 

Synesthesia: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment. (Updated 2023, May 3). https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24995-synesthesia. 

My journey from learning about endosymbiosis and becoming a plant.

 Okay, so this post will be more theoretical than anything else due to my interest in the subject. Recently I was afforded the opportunity to present one research subject based on evolution and I had chosen an article about inducing endosymbiosis in fungal cells. Endosymbiosis is basically a mutually beneficial relationship between two living things but one of those entities lives inside the other. The most common example of endosymbiosis would be the mitochondria and its general relationship with the cell. However the study "Inducing novel endosymbioses by implanting bacteria in fungi" began by first seeing if we could induce an endosymbiotic relationship in the first place by implanting a bacterium into its endosymbiotic partner just to see if it was generally possible. They then further the study by testing whether other bacteria such as E.coli were able to form an endosymbiotic relationship with fungi. Overall they found that adaptive evolution was at play in that the fungi and bacterium began to adapt to each other and rely on each other in the endosymbiotic partnership. Although plant cells and animal cells both have a mitochondrion, this study shows that we can switch them and observe the effects that it would have on both cells, or we could implant a bacterium that produces ATP in a more inefficient or efficient method which would be interesting to see in the future.

Addendum- 12/2/2024: After doing some further thinking, I realized the full potential of this study in succeeding to implant an endosymbiotic relationship in a cell. Mitochondrion and chloroplasts are not the only cell organelles that we could replace with the bacterium, we may also be able to redefine medicine entirely by creating designer cells with organelles that would have secondary defenses to viruses and foreign bacterium due to cells often being hosts for those very foreign invaders to multiply and become a system-wide threat. If we could create a bacterium that specifically targeted foreign bacterium with the cell's cytoplasm, we would be able to create a treatment for most infections without worrying about if they were gram-negative or positive. 

Giger, G. H., Ernst, C., Richter, I., Gassler, T., Field, C. M., Sintsova, A., Kiefer, P., Gäbelein, C. G., Guillaume–Gentil, O., Scherlach, K., Bortfeld-Miller, M., Zambelli, T., Sunagawa, S., Künzler, M., Hertweck, C., & Vorholt, J. A. (2024, October 2). Inducing novel endosymbioses by implanting bacteria in fungi. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08010-x

Wonder how your diet and habits affect your mood? here's how:

 Lately I have been working physically on myself, besides working out I have also stopped eating out as often and have adopted a more "healthy" lifestyle, as a result from this I have notice changes in my daily moods, sleep patterns and even changes in my hair. We have always heard of the so many benefits that come with a healthier lifestyle but noticing changes beyond the physical ones really made me wonder how truly impactful this lifestyle is on our mental health.

Turns out there is a connection that exists between gut health and our mental well-being, often referred to as the "gut-brain axis," which has been gaining attention in medical research. There is microbiome in the gut and it plays a super important role in maintaining mental health, if there is imbalances in this microbiota this can be linked to problems such as anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders. This relationship is thought to be mediated by various mechanisms, including inflammation and gut permeability, which can heavily influence how our brain function.

Diet is crucial in shaping this microbiome. A diet rich in fiber, whole foods, fruits, vegetables, and legumes maintains a more healthy gut microbiome, while processed foods high in sugar and fat can exacerbate dysbiosis (which is a change in the composition of the microbiome) and negatively impact our mental health. Probiotics, found in fermented foods like yogurt, and prebiotics, found in foods such as garlic and bananas, support beneficial gut bacteria and can increase mental well-being.

Besides all the benefits already mentioned regular physical activity has been shown to positively influence gut health by fostering the growth bacteria that is beneficial for us, while chronic stress can disrupt the gut, leading to digestive issues and mental health problems. In addition to diet and exercise, sleep also plays an important role in maintaining a healthy gut-brain connection. Poor sleep or chronic sleep deprivation can disrupt the balance of gut microbiota, which may lead to an increase in stress and inflammation,  (Jamail, 2024).

Overall, nurturing the gut-brain connection through healthy lifestyle choices is essential for promoting overall well-being and especially mental health

REFERENCES

Jamail, S. (2024, April 9). The connection between gut health and mental well-being. Mind & Body Complete. https://mindbodycomplete.com

Can a pig’s heart save your life?

Heart transplants are reserved for people who have severe heart failure, have tried all the medical therapy and all the cardiac procedure but have not responded appropriately. Their heart is pumping but not enough and a heart transplant is the only procedure that will ensure they live. But there is one downfall to being on the waiting list for a transplant, that is the wait. People have had their conditions worsen or, to make it even worse, some have died waiting for their transplant. Using a pig’s heart can bridge the gap for those who have exhausted their options and have been waiting for a long time.

It is proposed that a heart pig transplant can prolong your life, which can be a bridge while someone continues to wait in the transplant waiting list, for a compatible human heart to become available. Non-primate research heart transplants have shown to survive beyond 6 months. While the exact criteria for candidacy is extensive, it can still be life changing for those who become eligible.

To date this has been performed twice. The first successful transplant of a genetically modified pig heart into a human was performed by the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2022 to a 57-year-old male who was suffering of terminal heart disease. This patient lived for 2 months post-surgery. Ultimately, this patient did not die from typical signs of rejection from the pig heart.  Rather, histology showed some cardiac cell necrosis, interstitial swelling, and red blood cells leaking out of vessels, but no signs of small blood vessel clots. The University of Maryland School of Medicine is still attempting to identify the source that led to failure.

The second successful transplant of a genetically modified pig heart into human was performed in September 2023 in a 58-year-old male patient with a history of end-stage heart failure. This patient had already been resuscitated once; this was his last chance at life since he has not a candidate for a traditional human heart transplant.  In the end, he rejected the genetically modified pig heart in a similar way to how it occurs with human organs and passed away 6 weeks later.  

Although these 2 procedures have been semi-successful, in that I mean the patient surviving through surgery but neither patient living past 7 weeks, as preliminary research suggested at least six months. I am curious if they have plans in performing another transplant and about what other animal organ transplant this is a capable of prolonging the life of patients who have been suffering waiting in the transplant list.

 

References

Griffith, B. P., Goerlich, C. E., Singh, A. K., Rothblatt, M., Lau, C. L., Shah, A., Lorber, M., Grazioli, A., Saharia, K. K., Hong, S. N., Joseph, S. M., Ayares, D., & Mohiuddin, M. M. (2022). Genetically modified porcine-to-human cardiac xenotransplantation. New England Journal of Medicine, 387(1), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2201422

Pierson, R. N., 3rd, Burdorf, L., Madsen, J. C., Lewis, G. D., & D’Alessandro, D. A. (2020). Pig-to-human heart transplantation: Who goes first? American Journal of Transplantation : Official Journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, 20(10), 2669–2674. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.15916

 

Can Common Digestive Issues Be linked to Major Cardiac Events?

 Regarding health, some might think that heart disease and digestive issues are separate. A common issue with digestion is constipation. Although constipation could feel like a minor inconvenience, new research suggests it could be linked to something much more severe. According to a large-scale study of over 400,000 people in the UK, individuals with constipation have a significantly higher risk of experiencing major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) like heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure. 

The researchers focused on participants with constipation and compared them to individuals with regular bowel movements to see if constipation was linked to an increased risk of MACEs. They discovered that people with constipation had a significantly higher risk of experiencing MACEs compared to those without constipation. Those with constipation had a 2.72 times higher risk of heart failure. The risk of ischemic stroke was 2.36 times higher, and a 1.62 times higher risk of ACS, a condition that includes heart attacks. For hypertensive individuals, constipation raised the risk even further.

Researchers believe that there could be a link between constipation and heart disease because they share common risk factors like inflammation, poor diet, and a sedentary lifestyle. Constipation can also disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to inflammation that can affect heart health. Chronic constipation often involves low-grade inflammation and immune activation. Inflammation is a critical factor in developing arterial plaques and high blood pressure. Additionally, constipation might signal issues in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS controls involuntary bodily functions and regulates heart rate and gut motility. Changes in the ANS can impact blood pressure and heart rate variability, which are critical factors in heart health. Finally, low dietary fiber intake and dehydration are also risk factors for heart disease.

Eating more fiber, drinking a lot of water, and staying active to ensure a healthy digestive system and heart health could be beneficial if you struggle with constipation. 

Koehle, M. S. (2024). Physiological impacts of atmospheric pollution: Effects of environmental air pollution on exercise. Physiological Reports, 12(7), e16005.

Mini Human Brains??

           Imagine a world where we could create human brain models from real human cells… oh wait! We do! Because of the work of Dr. Madeline Lancaster and her team at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, human brain organoids were created. Before this discovery, the complex anatomical structures of the brain were primarily identified post-mortem. While this approach has led to many scientific discoveries, it is limited as obtaining brain tissue from individuals with specific disorders or at particular developmental stages is often not feasible. To overcome this limitation, animal models have been extensively used in the world of neuroscience research, however, due to the complexity of the human brain, it is often difficult to know with certainty whether or not the animal findings can be applied to humans. 

      Now, what exactly are human brain organoids? Well, by using pluripotent stem cells (which are cells that can become almost any cell in the human body) scientists created a mini 3-dimensional, self-organizing model of the human brain. These organoids organize themselves in such a way that they develop features that mimic the early stages of human development, and, the crazy part is, they do it without interference. They consist of astrocytes, neurons, and progenitors, all of which are found in developing human brains. During their development, they differentiate into diverse structures and regions that resemble the natural path of development that human fetal cells follow. There are numerous neurodevelopmental diseases that are difficult to study in a human baby due to ethical considerations, therefore, by using brain organoids, researchers have the opportunity to try and understand the early development of disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and even the neuronal defects caused by things like the Zika virus. In 2016, the Zika virus spread through Central and South America causing fetuses to develop microencephaly (abnormally small heads associated with incomplete brain development), and it was difficult for researchers to uncover what exactly was happening on a neuronal level. However, thanks to these organoids, they discovered that the Zika virus in fetuses causes neuronal stem cell death. Furthermore, diseases with early onset such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease can be studied using these organoid models. 

These are just some of the many examples where these organoids have been used to uncover the underlying mechanisms of neurodevelopmental diseases and disorders. Now, of course, there are limitations, however, with more research and scientific innovation, these models could become a crucial tool in the world of neuroscience and guide us to further understand developmental variations in the human brain.

Kim, S. Y., & Chang, M.-Y. (2023). Application of Human Brain Organoids—Opportunities and Challenges in Modeling Human Brain Development and Neurodevelopmental Diseases. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(15), 12528–12528. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241512528

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Septal Myectomy

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, most often in the interventricular septum, which divides the left and right ventricles. This thickening can disrupt normal heart function by narrowing the left ventricle, making it more difficult for blood to flow into the aorta through the aortic semilunar valve. In obstructive HCM, the thickened septum can bulge into the left ventricular outflow tract, which is the pathway through which blood flows from the left ventricle to the aorta. When the septum blocks this passage, it increases pressure inside the heart, making it harder for blood to be pumped to through the systemic system. With this lack of nutrient and oxygen exchange at the capillary beds, biological functions can fail. The human body can go into organ failure if the kidneys do not receive five liters of blood. 

To combat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy a septal myectomy can be preformed. This is a surgical procedure designed to remove a portion of the interventricular septum muscle. By removing the thickened tissue, the surgery effectively relieves the obstruction. This restoration of normal outflow reduces the pressure within the heart, alleviating symptoms. Which also allows for systemic blood flow, and for the kidney's to receive their required five liters. Septal myectomy can improve long-term heart function and quality of life for patients with obstructive HCM. 

Reference:

American Heart Association. “Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.” www.heart.org, 2016, www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cardiomyopathy/what-is-cardiomyopathy-in-adults/hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy.