The Puzzle Of The Human Appendix - Gut Flora Defense

[Guest guest]

The Puzzle of the Human Appendix, Solved! - It defends the gut's

beneficial bacteria

 

Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

 

 

For long, the appendix has been regarded as a trouble causing

evolutionary ballast. But a new research suggests that the appendix

could have in fact an active beneficial role, being a " safe house "

for the good gut bacteria.

 

 

Based on observations and experiments, the team at the Duke

University Medical Center said that the beneficial bacteria located

in the appendix can determine a gut to repopulate with its flora,

following a bout of diarrhea that cleanses it completely.

" While there is no smoking gun, the abundance of circumstantial

evidence makes a strong case for the role of the appendix as a place

where the good bacteria can live safe and undisturbed until they are

needed, " said lead researcher Dr. William Parker, assistant professor

of experimental surgery.

 

 

The appendix is a thin 2-4 in (5-10 cm) long pouch situated at the

joint of the large and small intestines. Its function has been a

puzzle for the researchers for long, and the only sure thing is that

it contains an immune system.

 

 

Some microbes from the gut digest food that the human digestive

juices cannot, providing some useful nutrients for the body (like

vitamin K). The Duke team points that the immune system cells

encountered in the appendix have a role of defending, rather than

killing the beneficial

bacteria.

 

 

For ten years, Parker has been investigating the dynamics of the gut

bacteria in biofilms, thin layers located atop the intestines

consisting of a mix of microbes, mucous and immune system molecules.

 

 

" Our studies have indicated that the immune system protects and

nourishes the colonies of microbes living in the biofilm. By

protecting these good microbes, the harmful microbes have no place to

locate. We have also shown that biofilms are most pronounced in the

appendix and their prevalence decreases moving away from it. " said

Parker.

 

 

" This new function of the appendix might be envisioned if conditions

in the absence of modern health care and sanitation are considered.

Diseases causing severe diarrhea are endemic in countries without

modern health and sanitation practices, which often results in the

entire contents of the bowels, including the biofilms, being flushed

from the body, " he explained.

 

 

" The appendix's location and position is such that it is expected to

be relatively difficult for anything to enter it as the contents of

the bowels are emptied. Once the bowel contents have left the body,

the good bacteria hidden away in the appendix can emerge and

repopulate the lining of the intestine before more harmful bacteria

can take up residence. In industrialized societies with modern

medical care and sanitation practices, the maintenance of a reserve

of beneficial bacteria may not be necessary. This is consistent with

the observation that removing the appendix in modern societies has no

discernable negative effects. " continued Parker.

 

 

For several decades, the " hygiene hypothesis " has been the

explanation for the high incidence of appendicitis in developed

countries. The obsession for " hygiene " in these countries could boost

allergy and even autoimmune disease because people's immune systems

are not challenged on a daily base by the array of parasites or germs

common in the environment and when the immune systems are triggered,

they often overreact.

 

 

" This overreactive immune system may lead to the inflammation

associated with appendicitis and could lead to the obstruction of the

intestines that causes acute appendicitis. Thus, our modern health

care and sanitation practices may account not only for the lack of a

need for an appendix in our society, but also for much of the

problems caused by the appendix in our society. " said Parker.

 

----

Excerpt

 

Vindication! Troublesome appendix has function

Researchers think organ produces, protects good germs

Associated Press

Saturday, October 6, 2007

 

 

WASHINGTON -- Some scientists think they have figured out the real

job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces

and protects good germs for your gut.

 

 

That's the theory from surgeons and immunologists at Duke University

Medical School, published online in a scientific journal this week.

 

 

For generations the appendix has been dismissed as superfluous.

Doctors figured it had no function. Surgeons removed them routinely.

People ive fine without them.

 

 

And when infected the appendix can turn deadly. It gets inflamed

quickly and some people die if it isn't removed in time. Two years

ago, 321,000 Americans were hospitalized with appendicitis, according

to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

 

The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of

bacteria populating the human digestive system, according to the

study in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. There are more bacteria

than human cells in the typical body. Most of it is good and helps

digest food.

 

 

But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are

purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the

gut of useful bacteria. The appendix's job is to reboot the digestive

system in that case.

 

 

The appendix " acts as a good safe house for bacteria, " said Duke

surgery professor Bill Parker, a study co-author. Its location --

just below the normal one-way flow of food and germs in the large

intestine in a sort of gut cul-de-sac -- helps support the theory, he

said.

 

 

Also, the worm-shaped organ outgrowth acts like a bacteria factory,

cultivating the good germs, Parker said.

[Guest guest]

My gut has been cranky for as long as I can remember. I had my

appendix taken out at age 10. As a kid, I got dosed frequently with

antibiotics, both oral and by needle. My family ate few raw foods, no

live cultured foods, and huge amounts of carbs. Seems to me that had

I eaten a healthier diet and not been given antibiotics, I might still

have my appendix.

 

I draw the opposite conclusion from the ending paragraphs. It

seems to me that modern medical care may be the cause of appendicitis,

and lifelong gut problems.

 

 

On 1/23/08, rpautrey2 <rpautrey2 wrote:

> The Puzzle of the Human Appendix, Solved! - It defends the gut's

> beneficial bacteria

>

> Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

>

>

> For several decades, the " hygiene hypothesis " has been the

> explanation for the high incidence of appendicitis in developed

> countries. The obsession for " hygiene " in these countries could boost

> allergy and even autoimmune disease because people's immune systems

> are not challenged on a daily base by the array of parasites or germs

> common in the environment and when the immune systems are triggered,

> they often overreact.

>

>

> " This overreactive immune system may lead to the inflammation

> associated with appendicitis and could lead to the obstruction of the

> intestines that causes acute appendicitis. Thus, our modern health

> care and sanitation practices may account not only for the lack of a

> need for an appendix in our society, but also for much of the

> problems caused by the appendix in our society. " said Parker.

>