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Researchers at Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute have shown the link between the intestinal microbiome and atherosclerosis to measure the burden of the plaque in the carotid arteries that causes heart attack and stroke. To understand the role of the bacteria in the gut may play in atherosclerosis, the researchers examined blood levels of metabolic products of the intestinal microbiome to detect the roles of gut bacteria in atherosclerosis.
Researchers examined different people from three groups of patients-those with about as much plaque as predicted by traditional risk factors, those who seem to be protected from atherosclerosis because they have high levels of traditional risk factors but normal arteries, and those with unexplained atherosclerosis who don’t have any traditional risk factors but still have high levels of plaque burden.
They discovered that patients with unexplained atherosclerosis had significantly higher blood levels of these toxic metabolites that are produced by the intestinal bacteria,” said Dr. David Spence, professor at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and scientist at Robarts Research Institute. The researchers looked specifically at the metabolites TMAO, p-cresyl sulfate, p-cresyl glucuronide, and phenylacetylglutamine, and measured the build-up of plaque in the arteries using carotid ultrasound.
The study shows that the gut microbiome plays an important role in an individual’s risk for atherosclerosis, opening the door for new treatment options for those patients with unexplained plaque build-up in the arteries. Probiotics can be used to counter these compounds in the gut and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, repopulation of the intestinal microbiome is another novel approach to treatment of atherosclerosis.
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