Incredibly important hypothesis piece published today 👉 “Proposed here is a theory that #microorganisms from within the #brain and elsewhere in the body contribute to the long-term #neurological deterioration characteristic of traumatic brain injury”: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

From paper 👉 1. “First, since the normal human #brain is not sterile, but is host to a variety of microorganisms, blows to the #skull may dislodge them from their accustomed local environments, in which they have been living in quiet equilibrium with neighboring #brain cells”

2. “2nd, upon impact commensal #microbes already resident on surfaces of the nose, mouth + eyes, and potentially harmful organisms from the environment, may gain access to the #brain through the distal ends of the olfactory + optic #nerves or even a disrupted blood-brain barrier”

3. “Third, #microbes dwelling in more distant parts of the body may be propelled through the walls of local #blood vessels into the #bloodstream, and then leak out into damaged areas of the #brain that have increased blood-brain barrier permeability”

4. “Fourth, the impact may cause #dysbiosis in the #gastrointestinal microbiome, thereby disrupting signaling via the #gut-brain axis.”

5. “Possible preventatives or #therapeutics that would address the adverse contributions of #microbes to the late sequelae of traumatic brain injury include anti-inflammatories, antibacterials, #antivirals, and #probiotics.”