Great reminder today from Dr K – this is precisely why I ask the question on the new patient case review form: ‘Have you ever been knocked unconscious even if only for a few seconds?’
…research shows that concussion patients can experience chronic brain inflammation for years after the initial injury, resulting in serious long-term health issues.
Dr Kharrazian
If someone has a chronic illness that isn’t resolving, this question becomes important.
He continues:
The gut and brain are closely connected via a communication pathway called the brain-gut axis. In this two-way connection, the brain and gut give each other information about how to function. Sometimes the health of either the gut or the brain becomes compromised, and this causes problems for the brain-gut axis.
Leaky gut can lead to brain inflammation
The intestinal lining is designed only to allow certain compounds into the bloodstream. Intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” happens when the lining becomes over-porous and allows toxins, undigested food, and other pathogens into the bloodstream.
These pathogens trigger an immune cascade that results in systemic inflammation, increasing the risk for food sensitivities, inflammation, pain, and autoimmune disease.
The damage doesn’t stop there. Leaky gut is related to “leaky brain,” in which the blood-brain barrier, a protective membrane around the brain, also becomes over-permeable. This allows pathogens to enter the brain, leading to a damaging cascade of inflammation.
An inflamed brain results in damaged brain tissue, leading to symptoms that include:
Fatigue
Brain fog
Depression
Anxiety
Memory loss
Other brain-based disorders
So, if you have any of those symptoms and you’ve got leaky gut or have had a bang on the head, especially where you have lost consciousness, consider neuroinflammation. Cyrex 2 tests for leaky brain and you can see more on NI here (about half way down), with a starter protocol suggested to help lower it.