Study reveals the reason why processed foods trigger chronic kidney disease

Donuts are don'tnuts, being high in pro-inflammatory compounds.
A Monash led team has published research on not only how diet leads
to chronic kidney disease, but also how diet can reverse the damage.
A/Prof Melinda Coughlan explains: see video

A recent study led by Monash University diabetes researchers has shown that a diet high in processed foods brings on leaky gut syndrome, which in turn increases the risk of kidney disease.

In particular, the findings revealed that certain harmful chemical compounds called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs), triggered by a process called the Maillard reaction, switch on the body's danger signals leading to an inflammatory response and chronic kidney disease, but by introducing foods containing a specialised fibre, the effects can be improved.

Congratulations to endometriosis research team on MRFF grant award!

L-R: The team members are A/Prof Jane Muir (CIA), Dr Rebecca Burgell, Dr Jane Varney and Dr Judith Moore of Central Clinical School's Department of  Gastroenterology; Prof Jane Fisher in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine; and Prof Mark Morrison at University of Queensland.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Jane Muir on the award of an Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant, announced 28 May by Minister for Health, Greg Hunt. This particular round of grants is intended to address the health problem of endometriosis.

The title of A/Prof Muir's grant is "Creating an evidence base for clinical care: A randomised controlled study examining the efficacy of the low FODMAP diet for the relief of gastrointestinal symptoms in endometriosis", and has received funding for 2021-2025.

A/Prof Muir said, "We have a great team of Chief Investigators, who have all done a huge amount of work to get this project over the line!"

Translational study on high-fibre diet an eye-opener for PhD science student

Paul Gill, PhD student, has published his

first paper investigating the influence of a

high-fibre diet on SCFAs in the blood.

Follow Paul on Twitter @gillpaul93

by Anne Crawford

When PhD candidate Paul Gill began his biomedical science course at Monash University he had no idea his studies would immerse him in one of the most dynamic fields of contemporary science: the gut microbiome.

Paul’s first paper, recently published in The European Journal of Nutrition, highlighted the potential of dietary fibre therapy to manipulate the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and blood plasma concentrations. SCFAs are a group of organic acids produced in the gut from the bacterial fermentation of fibre in fruit, vegetables and certain grains. They are important for gut health but then absorbed into the bloodstream.

2017 Faculty internal funding scheme winners for Central Clinical School

Congratulations to CCS winners of 2017's Faculty internal Strategic Grants Scheme! See full Honour roll.

Strategic Program Grant (Non-Lab)

Dr Joseph Doyle (Department of Infectious Diseases): Rapid point-of-care tests to increase hepatitis C diagnosis, treatment uptake and cure in community settings - $44,000

Platform Access Grants (PAG)

1) Professor Harshal Nandurkar (Australian Centre for Blood Diseases): Novel endothelial-targeted therapy to improve stoke outcomes - $9,000

2) Dr Jane Muir (Department of Gastroenterology): Manipulating the gut microbiota via natural dietary prebiotics: a way forward to optimise gut health - $8,000

Joint Medicine-Pharmacy Grant (JMP)

Professor Magdalena Plebanski CCS (Department of Immunology & Pathology) and John Quinn  (Department of Pharmaceutics): High capacity nanocapsules to treat ovarian cancer - $50,000

Congratulations to the Gastroenterology FODMAP team for Dean's Award!

The low FODMAP research team at the 2013 Central Clinical School public lecture given by Peter Gibson.
L-R: Mr Alex Bogatyrev (Research scientist), Dr Jaci Barrett (Senior lecturer), Ms Amanda Banfield (Research Dietician), Ms Caroline Tuck (PhD student), Ms Simone Peters (PhD student), Prof Peter Gibson (HOD), Debbie King (Research chef), Ms Georgia Somers-Jones (Administrative Officer), Ms Emma Halmos (PhD student), Ms Phillipa Settle (Administrative Officer), Dr Jane Muir (Head, Translational Nutrition group), Ms CK Yao (PhD student), Ms Bernadette Kirwan (Administrative Officer).

Congratulations to Professor Peter Gibson, Dr Jane Muir & the FODMAP team, who are the recipients of the Dean's Awards in Excellence in Research Impact (Economic and Social Impact) team award in 2016. The date of the official presentation is 1 August 2016.

They have developed the Monash Low FODMAP diet app which is the highest selling medical app in Australia and now downloaded in over 100 countries worldwide. Their public lecture and animation videos have been seen by over 130,000 people.

See more about Low FODMAP diet research and products at Monash:

• Website: http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/
• App: http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/iphone-app.html
• Booklet: http://ecommerce.med.monash.edu.au/product.asp?pID=317&cID=11&c=17231
• Animation video link:  https://youtu.be/Z_1Hzl9o5ic
• 2013 public lecture video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByszVbFBPtY

Recent CCS publications: Week ending 15 April 2016

Figure 2 from the Darido publication: A schematic representation
of the cross-talk among key barrier genes, signaling transducers
and inflammatory factors

Recent publications with Central Clinical School affiliated authors:

Darido C, Georgy SR and Jane SM. The role of barrier genes in epidermal malignancy. Oncogene advance online publication 4 April 2016; 
Reference doi: 10.1038/onc.2016.84

de Valle E, Grigoriadis G, O'Reilly LA, Willis SN, Maxwell MJ, Corcoran LM, Tsantikos E, Cornish JK, Fairfax KA, Vasanthakumar A, Febbraio MA, Hibbs ML, Pellegrini M, Banerjee A, Hodgkin PD, Kallies A, Mackay F, Strasser A, Gerondakis S, Gugasyan R. NFκB1 is essential to prevent the development of multiorgan autoimmunity by limiting IL-6 production in follicular B cells. J Exp Med. 2016 Apr; 213:621-41. 
Reference doi: 10.1084/jem.20151182.

Philpott AL, Fitzgerald PB, Bailey NW, Churchyard A, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Cummins TD. A GABBR2 gene variant modifies pathophysiology in Huntington's disease. Neurosci Lett. 2016 Mar; 620:8-13.
Reference doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.03.038.

Prichard R, Rossi M, Muir J, Yao C, Whelan K, Lomer M. Fermentable oligosaccharide, disaccharide, monosaccharide and polyol content of foods commonly consumed by ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2016 Mar:1-8 (online).  
Reference doi: 10.3109/09637486.2016.1163328

Development of intestinal gas capsules

By Dr Jodie Abramovitch

Many types of gases are produced within our digestive systems. Alterations in the type and amount of these gases can alter gut function, and potentially be a sign of disease.

Professor Peter Gibson - Head of the
Department of Gastroenterology

In a cross-disciplinary collaborative project including Monash researchers from the Department of Gastroenterology, a new intestinal gas capsule has been developed. These capsules has been designed to be swallowed so as to allow access to the gut in a non-invasive manner. Here they can sample the gases present and transmit their concentration and location (based on time lapsed following ingestion of the capsule) within the gut.

To test the capsules, pigs on high or low fibre diets were given the capsules. Pigs on a high fibre diet had higher concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and lower hydrogen gas (H₂) within their gastrointestinal tract than pigs given a low fibre diet. These findings were consistent with previous studies which measured gases in the guts of pigs on low and high fibre diets using classical (more invasive) techniques. As such, this study has shown that intestinal gas capsules can effectively provide information on the "where and what" regarding gas production in the gut, information that can only be determined presently by invasive techniques that are not possible to perform on humans.

Though the capsules require further refinement before they can be considered for use in humans, this study has shown that they have great potential to effectively and non-invasively detect gases within the gut. This will allow for a better understanding of the physiology of the gut  and permit easier detection and assessment of gut disorders within the clinic and inform treatment options.

Reference: Kalantar-Zadeh K, Yao CK, Berean KJ, Ha N, Ou JZ, Ward SA, Pillai N, Hill J, Cottrell JJ, Dunshea FR, McSweeney C, Muir JG, Gibson PR. Intestinal gas capsules: a proof-of-concept demonstration. Gastroenterology. 2016 Jan: 150;37-9
doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2015.07.072

The low FODMAP diet and its application in East and Southeast Asia

Thai green curry. Image: Monash Dept of Gastroenterology

There is growing interest in using food choice/dietary change to influence clinical outcomes in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The low fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) diet is an evidence-based approach that is increasingly used in many Western countries, and holds great promise in treating IBS patients in East and Southeast Asia. However, the success of this dietary approach greatly depends on detailed knowledge about the FODMAP composition of food commonly consumed in that country.

Low FODMAP certification program launched by Monash University

Spelt grain has lower FODMAPs than
modern wheat cultivars

One in seven Australians suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but a new app and certification scheme launched by Monash University will help them find foods they can comfortably eat - and the ancient grain spelt appears to be part of the solution.

The Monash University Low FODMAP Certification Program certifies foods that are low in a group of carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the digestive system - Fermentable, Oligo-saccharides, Di-saccharides, Mono-saccharides And Polyols (FODMAPs). See:

• Story
• Low FODMAP certification program details
• 15/4/2015 ABC news video clip with Dr Jane Muir.

Is gluten a cause of gastrointestinal symptoms in people without celiac disease?

Gluten: appears not to affect
non-celiac IBS sufferers

The avoidance of wheat- and gluten-containing products is a worldwide phenomenon. While celiac disease is a well-established entity, the evidence base for gluten as a trigger of symptoms in patients without celiac disease (so-called ‘non-celiac gluten sensitivity’ or NCGS) is limited. Department of Gastroenterology (DoG) researchers review the evidence and conclude that, "On current evidence the existence of the entity of NCGS remains unsubstantiated." See full text of article.

Monash FODMAP research in prestigious Gastroenterology journal

The most recent issue of U.S. based Gastroenterology, the top and most influential journal in the field, has three articles and one reply by Department of Gastroenterology researchers. Prof Peter Gibson is Head of Department, Dr Jane Muir is Head of Translational Nutrition research group, and Emma Halmos has recently submitted her PhD thesis. 

References

• Emma P. Halmos, Victoria A. Power, Susan J. Shepherd, Peter R. Gibson, Jane G. Muir. A diet low in FODMAPs reduces symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Link.

Monash Uni Low FODMAP Diet app launched for Android users

An Android version of the highly successful Monash University FODMAP smartphone application is now available, see link.

Last December the FODMAP app for the iPhone platform was launched by the research team at the Department of Gastroenterology at Monash University, providing accurate information about foods that trigger irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for the first time using this technology.

Consumer driven crops: the growing gluten-free harvest for IBS sufferers

Gluten free food has become a way of life for hundreds of thousands of Australians, and their dietary needs are driving the market. Dr Jane Muir, Head of the Nutrition Translational Science group in the Department of Gastroenterology, was interviewed for the ABC television program 'Landline', broadcast Sunday 6 Oct 2013. She said that it may not be gluten so much as a type of carbohydrate called fructans which was causing the problem. Older wheat types such as spelt had lower fructans levels and did not cause such a problem for those with irritable bowel syndrome. Transcript: http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2013/s3863244.htm.