Drinking baking soda could be an inexpensive, safe way to combat autoimmune disease

[Marco]

Not addressing the underlying cause of course but by reducing inflammation associated with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

It's a little bit garbled but as far as I can tell baking soda appears to reduce inflammation by inducing the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway directly via mesothelial spleen cells rather than via the vagal nerve.

A daily dose of baking soda may help reduce the destructive inflammation of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists say.

They have some of the first evidence of how the cheap, over-the-counter antacid can encourage our spleen to promote instead an anti-inflammatory environment that could be therapeutic in the face of inflammatory disease, Medical College of Georgia scientists report in the Journal of Immunology.

https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/mcog-dbs042418.php

 

[Trish]

The paper in the Journal of Immunology referred to in the above press release is here:
http://www.jimmunol.org/content/early/2018/04/14/jimmunol.1701605
Oral NaHCO3 Activates a Splenic Anti-Inflammatory Pathway: Evidence That Cholinergic Signals Are Transmitted via Mesothelial Cells
Sarah C. Ray, Paul M. O’Connor et al. (long list of authors from Augusta University, Georgia.)
J Immunol April 16, 2018

Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that oral NaHCO3 intake stimulates splenic anti-inflammatory pathways.

Following oral NaHCO3 loading, macrophage polarization was shifted from predominantly M1 (inflammatory) to M2 (regulatory) phenotypes, and FOXP3+CD4+ T-lymphocytes increased in the spleen, blood, and kidneys of rats.

Similar anti-inflammatory changes in macrophage polarization were observed in the blood of human subjects following NaHCO3 ingestion.

Surprisingly, we found that gentle manipulation to visualize the spleen at midline during surgical laparotomy (sham splenectomy) was sufficient to abolish the response in rats and resulted in hypertrophy/hyperplasia of the capsular mesothelial cells.

Thin collagenous connections lined by mesothelial cells were found to connect to the capsular mesothelium. Mesothelial cells in these connections stained positive for the pan-neuronal marker PGP9.5 and acetylcholine esterase and contained many ultrastructural elements, which visually resembled neuronal structures. Both disruption of the fragile mesothelial connections or transection of the vagal nerves resulted in the loss of capsular mesothelial acetylcholine esterase staining and reduced splenic mass.

Our data indicate that oral NaHCO3 activates a splenic anti-inflammatory pathway and provides evidence that the signals that mediate this response are transmitted to the spleen via a novel neuronal-like function of mesothelial cells.

 

[Marco]

Thanks @Trish

 

[Snow Leopard]

Why do we get these ridiculous press-releases?

 

[Wonko]

Q. Do we have to drink the baking soda, or can we ingest it in the form of cakes, scones, soda bread etc?

 

[Trish]

Why do we get these ridiculous press-releases?

If you read the press release carefully, it becomes clear that the actual research being talked about was in healthy rats. The stuff about humans and autoimmune diseases was mention of other research that may be related to the effect found in the rats.
This sentence in the article:

O'Connor hopes drinking baking soda can one day produce similar results for people with autoimmune disease.

Has somehow morphed into a title:

Drinking baking soda could be an inexpensive, safe way to combat autoimmune disease

which is not what the research was about.

I agree, the press release, especially its title, is very misleading.