If you are like most people (and even most doctors), you may have a hard time wrapping your mind around the fact that a problem in your gut can cause a problem in your thyroid (which is way up in your neck). There is strong evidence that proves that this just might be the underlying issue in many cases of Graves' disease.
Graves thyroiditis, also known as Graves' disease, is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid gland. While there can be acute attacks of thyroiditis, Graves' disease is usually a more slow acting autoimmune disorder.
There is evidence that a specific strand of pathogen (though there can be many different kinds not as well documented) called Yersinia enterocolitica that has been shown to cause Graves thyroiditis.
A common medical treatment for Graves thyroiditis is radiation or surgical removal of the thyroid gland. The thought is that if you remove the overactive thyroid gland, then you remove the problem. This line of thinking ignores the fact that there is still the underlying problem of the Yersinia enterocolitica.
If the treatment was aimed in addressing the pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica instead of the thyroid, you may have been able to forgo the ablating of the thyroid gland.
So how did Yersinia enterocolitica even get into the bloodstream to cause Graves' disease?
Most likely in cases of dysbiosis (or overgrowth of unhealthy bugs within your gut lining), there is an overgrowth of Yersinia enterocolitica within the gut. When this pathogen is allowed to flourish in the gut lining, changes to the gut lining may enable Yersinia enterocolitica to pass through when it should not.
Once Yersinia enterocolitica is in the bloodstream, your immune system recognizes it, tags it is a foreign invader, and then attacks it.
It is believed that the protein makeup of Yersinia enterocolitica is similar to that of the protein structures on the thyroid. What happens is your immune system gets "tag happy" and tags your thyroid gland as well. Now your body cannot decipher a difference between Yersinia enterocolitica and your thyroid gland. You now have what is known as an autoimmune disease.
There are many natural treatments that will help rid the body of Yersinia enterocolitica overgrowth, such as: probiotics, oil of oregano, tree tea oil, garlic, olive oil, aloe, glutamine, high fiber diet, exclusion of trans fats, avoidance of chronic use of antibiotics, etc.
So I hope that now you can see how treating a tummy ache can prevent an autoimmune disease and save you from cutting out or destroying a gland essential to life.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Graves' Disease Caused by a Tummy Ache?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
dude, I really hope you aren't a doctor.
the bug is more likely associated with the disease than a cause.
If it were a cause, it would be a minor cause.
Now T cells hanging around too long - the research being done at UCLA makes a lot more sense than your pathogen theory.
Lay people really embrace the pathogen theory for everything. Don't search too hard for an answer with blinders on, because you will find it.
Yes dude, I am a Doctor. But seriously, thank you for the post. I'm always up for a good discussion on these controversial topics, as well as learning something new.
So here's my side of the story:
I've read the UCLA study, and it talks more about the process of the autoimmune disorder rather than the cause.
"We didn't know why Graves' disease patients' cells created a new antibody but had a hunch that that it sprang from an immune abnormality," explained Dr. Raymond Douglas.
This is pretty much the general consensus, that Graves' is an autoimmune disease. The study goes on to talk more about how lingering T-cells and other inflammatory mediators are working overtime, again typical of an autoimmune disorder.
There is tons of research showing a link b/t Yersinia enterocolitica and Graves'.
Antibodies against the gram negative enteric bacterium Yersinia enterocolitica have been found in a high proportion of persons with autoimmune thyroid disorders, especially in those with Graves' disease or hyperthyroidism (Shenkman & Bottone, 1981).
This one still doesn't necessarily show Y enterocolitica as the cause, still could be as a consequence of having Graves like you suggested, but does show a link.
There is strong evidence that Graves' disease is caused by receptor autoantibodies which mimic the bioeffects of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) on the thyroid (Manley, Knight & Adams, 1982).
Doesn't necessarily pinpoint Y enterocolitica as the pathogen acting as the mimic, but does show some support to the "pathogen" theory.
Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease mediated by autoantibodies to the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR). Several studies have suggested that the development of Graves' disease may be linked to infection with the enteric pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica. (Luo, 1994)
These guys out of Univ of Texas did show a correlation b/t the 2.
The "tummy" portion of the blog entry is about leaky gut syndrome, also a fairly well researched topic demonstrating possible means of by which the pathogen can find its way into the blood stream.
Truth be told, there is no one that has this thing pegged. Most of what is accepted is theory because the findings aren't consistent enough to say definitively that XYZ is the cause of Graves' (but it's that way for all autoimmune disorders).
Please keep the post coming.
Not true, strictly speaking, of all autoimmune disorders...celiac disease has a known removable trigger (gluten of wheat, barley and rye) and the mechanism for initiation of the disease has been identified with a high degree of certainty. Damage to the gut by agents such as bacteria, physical friction (marathon running), or injury (mechanical or chemical), can cause leaky gut which starts a complex immune response that leads to the chronic disease.
If it's too soon to say definitively that your bug is a cause of Graves' disease, it might be interesting to note that celiac disease is often accompanied by Graves' disease (I have both). Some researchers have noticed an interesting interplay in that Graves' antibody counts have been known to fall with the discovery and treatment of celiac disease in a patient by gluten free diet.
Perhaps the immune system calms down because the celiac disease is de-activated. Perhaps the reduction in starch leaves less fuel source for your bug to flourish. Polysaccaride-free diets have been useful in treating SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) thought to be responsible for many cases of IBS, Crohn's and colitis.
I'm too lazy to cite sources, I'm betting you get JAMA and have full access to Medscape.
Not true, strictly speaking, of all autoimmune disorders...celiac disease has a known removable trigger (gluten of wheat, barley and rye) and the mechanism for initiation of the disease has been identified with a high degree of certainty. Damage to the gut by agents such as bacteria, physical friction (marathon running), or injury (mechanical or chemical), can cause leaky gut which starts a complex immune response that leads to the chronic disease.
If it's too soon to say definitively that your bug is a cause of Graves' disease, it might be interesting to note that celiac disease is often accompanied by Graves' disease (I have both). Some researchers have noticed an interesting interplay in that Graves' antibody counts have been known to fall with the discovery and treatment of celiac disease in a patient by gluten free diet.
Perhaps the immune system calms down because the celiac disease is de-activated. Perhaps the reduction in starch leaves less fuel source for your bug to flourish. Polysaccaride-free diets have been useful in treating SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) thought to be responsible for many cases of IBS, Crohn's and colitis.
I'm too lazy to cite sources, I'm betting you get JAMA and have full access to Medscape.
Kit
I have seen that too. You are referring to what is called autoimmune polysyndrome. In this case, it is when you see antibodies to both gliadin and thyroid goes down with removal of gluten from the diet.
There is one little thing to remember here. Celiac’s was found once we learned how to do biopsy's of the gut lining. They then saw how restricting gluten resolved the problem.
Since they made that discovery, people have erroneously limited gluten or gliadin intolerance to the gut. These problems can occur in other areas outside of the gut. Ask parents of ADHD kids that have put their kids on a gluten free diet if they think it has anything to do with problems in the brain.
Some people have a genetic predisposition to gluten intolerance. People with DQ2 and DQ8 are the most common positive for genetic predisposition to celiac disease, or possibly gluten intolerance. It is found in 20-50% of the population, higher in the Irish.
Some have problems with gluten triggered from other sources. Mercury can inhibit the breakdown of the gluten by inhibiting the needed dipeptopeptidase enzyme to break it down. If you can't break down proteins into amino acids, your body sees it as a foreign invader...the whole autoimmune thing.
Great post Kit. Keep them coming.
Post a Comment