Cleveland Clinic research finds link between gut microbes & stroke
New findings from Cleveland Clinic researchers in the US show for the first time that the gut microbiome impacts stroke severity and functional impairment following stroke. The results, published in Cell Host & Microbe, lay the groundwork for potential new interventions to help treat or prevent stroke.
The research was led by Weifei Zhu, PhD, and Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute. The study builds on more than a decade of research spearheaded by Dr Hazen and his team related to the gut microbiome’s role in cardiovascular health and disease, including the adverse effects of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) – a byproduct produced when gut bacteria digest certain nutrients abundant in red meat and other animal products.
Previously, Dr Hazen and his team discovered that elevated TMAO levels can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease. In clinical studies involving thousands of patients, they have shown that blood levels of TMAO predict future risk of heart attack, stroke and death -findings that have been replicated around the world. Earlier studies, also led by Doctors Zhu and Hazen, were the first to show a link between TMAO and enhanced risk for blood clotting.
The researchers compared brain damage in preclinical stroke models between those with elevated or reduced TMAO levels. Over time, those with higher levels of TMAO had more extensive brain damage and a greater degree of motor and cognitive functional deficits following stroke.
The team found that a gut microbe enzyme critical to TMAO production called CutC drove heightened stroke severity and worsened outcomes.
The study was supported in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.