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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/belgian-man-alcohol-auto-brewery-syndrome-drink-driving-b1153152.html

A Belgian man with a condition that causes his body to naturally produce alcohol has been cleared of drunk-driving.

Auto-brewery syndrome (ABS) is an extremely rare condition whereby the body produces alcohol due to high levels of ethanol in the blood.

The man’s lawyer Anse Ghesquiere said that just 20 people globally have been officially diagnosed with the condition.

The man, whose identity was not given, also works at a brewery.

Three doctors who examined the man confirmed that he had ABS, Ms Ghesquiere said.

The Bruges police court acquitted the man on Monday.

Belgian media said that the judge had emphasised that the defendant had not been intoxicated in his ruling.

Lisa Florin, a clinical biologist with the Belgian hospital AZ Sint-Lucas, said people with ABS produced the same type of alcohol as found in alcoholic drinks but that they generally felt less of its effects.

However, patients with ABS can sometimes present with the same symptoms as drunkenness, including slurred speech, stumbling, loss of motor functions and dizziness.

ABS can lead people to fail breathalyser tests and cause legal consequences for sufferers.

The rare condition, also known as gut fermentation syndrome, was first documented in the 1970s in Japan. It is caused by an unusually high concentration of yeast in the stomach.

Researchers have not yet discovered how yeast is able to set up colonies in the human gut. However, it is thought that yeast concentrations could appear after an infection.

In 2015, drunken driving charges against a woman in upstate New York were dismissed after she was discovered to have ABS.

https://www.psypost.org/ai-connects-gut-bacteria-metabolites-to-alzheimers-disease-progression/

In a new study published in Cell Reports, researchers have developed a sophisticated systems biology approach that combines artificial intelligence (AI), genetics, and multi-omics analyses to explore how metabolites produced by gut bacteria might influence Alzheimer’s disease.

The study identifies specific receptors in the human body that these metabolites interact with, potentially opening new avenues for therapeutic intervention. This significant finding could lead to the development of novel drugs that target these interactions, offering hope for treating or even preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder primarily affecting older adults, characterized by the decline of cognitive functions such as memory and reasoning. It is marked by the accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques and tau protein tangles in the brain, which interfere with neural function and lead to cell death.

The exact cause of Alzheimer’s is not fully understood, but it is believed to involve a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that affect the brain over time. As the disease advances, it severely impacts daily living and independence, making it one of the most common causes of dementia among the elderly.

Previous research has established that patients with Alzheimer’s disease experience changes in their gut bacteria as the disease progresses. These bacteria produce metabolites that can influence brain health, potentially contributing to the disease’s development. However, the specific pathways through which these metabolites act have remained largely a mystery.

This gap in understanding prompted the new study, aiming to map out the interactions between these metabolites and the human receptors they affect. The study was conducted by Feixiong Cheng and his team, bringing together experts from the Cleveland Clinic Genome Center, the Luo Ruvo Center for Brain Health, and the Center for Microbiome and Human Health.

The researchers analyzed over a million potential metabolite-receptor pairs using machine learning algorithms to predict interactions most likely to influence the disease. Genetic data, including Mendelian randomization, complemented these predictions by assessing causality and receptor involvement.

“Gut metabolites are the key to many physiological processes in our bodies, and for every key there is a lock for human health and disease,” said Cheng. “The problem is that we have tens of thousands of receptors and thousands of metabolites in our system, so manually figuring out which key goes into which lock has been slow and costly. That’s why we decided to use AI.”

The study also involved experimental validation using neurons derived from Alzheimer’s patients, where specific metabolites were tested for their effects on tau protein levels, a key biomarker of the disease’s progression. This multifaceted approach allowed the researchers to map out significant interactions within the gut-brain axis, shedding light on potential therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease.

One of the most striking outcomes of the study was the identification of specific G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that interact with metabolites produced by gut bacteria. The researchers focused on orphan GPCRs—receptors whose natural activators are unknown—and discovered that certain metabolites can activate these receptors. This finding is particularly intriguing because it opens new pathways for drug development, targeting these receptors to potentially modulate their activity in favor of disease prevention or mitigation.

Among the metabolites studied, phenethylamine and agmatine stood out due to their effects on tau proteins, which are involved in the neurological degradation characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. The study demonstrated that these metabolites could significantly alter the levels of phosphorylated tau proteins in neurons derived from Alzheimer’s patients. Agmatine, in particular, showed a protective effect by reducing harmful tau phosphorylation, suggesting it could be a potential candidate for therapeutic development.

The application of machine learning models was pivotal in predicting the interactions between over a million metabolite-receptor pairs. This high-throughput approach not only streamlined the identification of relevant interactions but also enhanced the understanding of the complex mechanisms by which gut microbiota can influence brain health. By integrating genetic analyses and experimental data, the researchers were able to validate these predictions and refine their understanding of the gut-brain axis in the context of Alzheimer’s disease.

While promising, the study’s authors acknowledge several limitations. The complexity of the gut-brain axis means that the findings are preliminary and require further validation through experimental and clinical studies. Future research will need to confirm these interactions in living organisms and explore the therapeutic potential of modulating these pathways.

Additionally, the study mainly focused on the biochemical interactions at a molecular level, without considering the broader physiological and environmental factors that might influence these processes in a living system.

Nevertheless, the research has provided a valuable framework for understanding how metabolites from gut bacteria could influence brain health and disease. The implications of these findings extend beyond Alzheimer’s disease, as the methodologies and insights could potentially be applied to other neurological and systemic diseases influenced by gut microbiota.

“We specifically focused on Alzheimer’s disease, but metabolite-receptor interactions play a role in almost every disease that involves gut microbes,” Cheng said. “We hope that our methods can provide a framework to progress the entire field of metabolite-associated diseases and human health.”

The study, “Systematic characterization of multi-omics landscape between gut microbial metabolites and GPCRome in Alzheimer’s disease,” was authored by Yunguang Qiu, Yuan Hou, Dhruv Gohel, Yadi Zhou, Jielin Xu, Marina Bykova, Yuxin Yang, James B. Leverenz, Andrew A. Pieper, Ruth Nussinov, Jessica Z.K. Caldwell, J. Mark Brown, and Feixiong Cheng.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13335555/Drunk-businesswoman-glassed-pub-drinker-age-manchester.html

A drunk businesswoman who glassed a pub drinker after he wrongly guessed her age has been spared jail after a female judge said 'one person's banter may be insulting to others'.

Mother-of-one Joanne Dodd, 39, flew into a rage and attacked Carl Cooper after he suggested she was 43 in the beer garden of the Unicorn pub in Manchester city centre on September 9 last year.

Mr Cooper fled to the toilet in a bid to get away from the heated situation, but when he came out Dodd ran towards him and twice shoved her wine glass in his face.

He was left with a four inch laceration to his face, narrowly missing his eye, and an injury to his thumb.

When quizzed Dodd, who runs a firm which organises children's sleepover parties, said she was suffering from 'low self esteem' at the time and said the banter was 'disobliging' towards her.

At Manchester Crown Court, Dodd, who is from Swinton in Salford, faced up to three years in jail under sentencing guidelines after she admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.

However, she was spared jail and handed a suspended sentence after Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said she was a 'dedicated, hardworking woman' who posed no risk to the public.

The judge told Dodd: 'It is obvious that you had been drinking heavily and there was undoubtedly some verbal exchange between you and the other group.

'You did not appreciate the comments made by Mr Cooper and one person's banter may be insulting to other people but that did not justify what you then went on to do.

'You were seen to be approaching him, throwing your drink over him and then striking him deliberately in the face with the glass that you had. Your conduct was incomprehensible.

'The only explanation that can really be put forward is that you were under the influence of drink, which does you no credit.

'It was no doubt traumatic for Mr Cooper and it would have had an impact on him. Fortunately he seems to have made a good recovery.

'I have seen the photo where the scar is barely noticeable but to him it will be a constant reminder of your conduct on that night. There was a very unpleasant injury, it is a grave injury, but fortunately there is no permanent disfigurement.'

The judge added: 'There is no mitigation about the circumstances of the offence itself but there is mitigation in relation to you.

'You are a woman with no previous convictions. You have never been in a court of law before and you have positive good character.

'It is accepted that you are a dedicated, hardworking woman, and undoubtedly a loving mother.

'It is right that you were remorseful from the beginning of the events at the police station.

'There is no doubt that this offence is so serious that it crosses the custody threshold. The issue is whether the sentence is immediate or can be suspended.

'There can be no doubt in this case that you are no risk to the public and that this offence was entirely out of character and I suspect that having been so shaken by your own conduct the court will never see you again.

'Perhaps more importantly you are a mother of a young child. Although, no doubt, the child would be taken care of, an immediate term of imprisonment would have a devastating effect on your child. It would be disproportionate to the sentence that needs to be imposed.'

The incident occurred on September 9 last year when Dodd was out with her sister at The Unicorn pub in Manchester city centre.

Prosecutor Emma Clark said: 'Carl Cooper and his friend Stuart Coleman were in the beer garden and the defendant was intoxicated.

'Mr Cooper and his friends were having a light-hearted conversation with the defendant's sister before the conversation turned to age.

'Mr Cooper guessed the ages of the two women - but the defendant took offence at Mr Cooper's guess. The conversation then became heated from there and she told Mr Cooper that she would glass him.

'He went to the toilet to get away from the situation and the defendant and her sister proceeded to the main bar area.

'But she caught sight of Mr Cooper as he left the toilet and immediately ran towards him, striking him twice in the face with a glass causing a laceration to the face and narrowly missing his eye.

'The defendant left the Unicorn pub shortly after the attack and was subsequently arrested at a Tesco store a short time later. The injury to Mr Coooper's face was treated with stitches.'

Dodd was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 12 months and was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work. She was also ordered to pay £800 in compensation to her victim.

Her barrister Mark Friend said: 'So far as the offence itself was concerned, it may be a case where the less said the better.

'But the events since that time remain very firmly in the mind of Miss Dodd. She deeply regrets this and apologises profusely to the complainant for her actions on that day.

'It may be said that some of what had been termed banter between them was rather disobliging but the defendant does not seek to excuse or explain her actions. There was also an unfortunate coalition of factors that were impacting on the defendant on that occasion.

'There were issues in relation to the loss of her father and issues of self esteem and self worth. The loss of her good character in the way she has is a burden she carries very severely.

'In reality this court can be most assured that Miss Dodd will not darken the doors of the court or any other court in the future.'