Biome

The human gut microbiome modulates many host processes, including metabolism, inflammation, and immune and cellular responses. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the microbiome can also influence the development of cancer. In preclinical models, the host response to cancer treatment has been …

At first glance, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) appears to be a far-fetched procedure devised as a slapstick plot for a sit-com series. However, this innovative technique may revolutionize the future of medical treatments for a host of maladies including autoimmune and allergic diseases as well as autism spectrum disorder.

Background Type II diabetes is a chronic health condition which is associated with skin conditions including chronic foot ulcers and an increased incidence of skin infections. The skin microbiome is thought to play important roles in skin defence and immune functioning. Diabetes affects the skin environment, and this may perturb skin microbiome with possible implications for skin infections and wound healing. This study examines the skin and wound microbiome in type II diabetes. Methods Eight type II diabetic subjects with chronic foot ulcers were followed over a time course of 10 weeks, sampling from both foot skin (swabs) and wounds (swabs and debrided tissue) every two weeks. A control group of eight control subjects was also followed over 10 weeks, and skin swabs collected from the foot skin every two weeks. Samples were processed for DNA and subject to 16S rRNA gene PCR and sequencing of the V4 region. Results The diabetic skin microbiome was significantly less diverse than control skin. Community composition was also significantly different between diabetic and control skin, however the most abundant taxa were similar between groups, with differences driven by very low abundant members of the skin communities. Chronic wounds tended to be dominated by the most abundant skin Staphylococcus, while other abundant wound taxa differed by patient. No significant correlations were found between wound duration or healing status and the abundance of any particular taxa. Discussion The major difference observed in this study of the skin microbiome associated with diabetes was a significant reduction in diversity. The long-term effects of reduced diversity are not yet well understood, but are often associated with disease conditions.

The future of probiotics is here

Abundant clinical, epidemiological, imaging, genetic, molecular, and pathophysiological data together indicate that there occur an unusual inflammatory reaction and a disruption of the innate-immune signaling system in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain. Despite many years of intense study, the origin and molecular mechanics of these AD-relevant pathogenic signals are still not well understood. Here, we provide evidence that an intensely pro-inflammatory bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), part of a complex mixture of pro-inflammatory neurotoxins arising from abundant Gram-negative bacilli of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract, are abundant in AD-affected brain neocortex and hippocampus. For the first time, we provide evidence that LPS immunohistochemical signals appear to aggregate in clumps in the parenchyma in control brains, and in AD, about 75% of anti-LPS signals were clustered around the periphery of DAPI-stained nuclei. As LPS is an abundant secretory product of Gram-negative bacilli resident in the human GI-tract, these observations suggest (i) that a major source of pro-inflammatory signals in AD brain may originate from internally derived noxious exudates of the GI-tract microbiome; (ii) that due to aging, vascular deficits or degenerative disease these neurotoxic molecules may “leak” into the systemic circulation, cerebral vasculature, and on into the brain; and (iii) that this internal source of microbiome-derived neurotoxins may play a particularly strong role...

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Are osmotic laxatives, like Miralax, a free ride to improved digestion, or is the body was actually paying a price for these interventions?

Hard as you try, you may not be able to avoid antibiotics completely. In fact, you’re probably even getting a low dose of antibiotics in your apples and cabbage

Background The human oral microbiome is formed early in development. Its composition is influenced by environmental factors including diet, substance use, oral health, and overall health and disease. The influence of human genes on the composition and stability of the oral microbiome is still poorly understood. We studied both environmental and genetic characteristics on the oral microbiome in a large twin sample as well as in a large cohort of unrelated individuals. We identify several significantly heritable features of the oral microbiome. The heritability persists in twins even when their cohabitation changes. The heritability of these traits correlates with the cumulative genetic contributions of over half a million single nucleotide sequence variants measured in a different population of unrelated individuals. Comparison of same-sex and opposite sex cotwins showed no significant differences. We show that two new loci on chromosomes 7 and 12 are associated with the most heritable traits. Results An analysis of 752 twin pairs from the Colorado Twin Registry, shows that the beta-diversity of monozygotic twins is significantly lower than for dizygotic or unrelated individuals. This is independent of cohabitation status. Intraclass correlation coefficients of nearly all taxa examined were higher for MZ than DZ twin pairs. A comparison of individuals sampled over 2-7 years confirmed previous reports that the oral microbiome remains relatively more stable in individuals over that time than to unrelated people. Twin modeling shows that a number of microbiome phenotypes were more than 50% heritable consistent with the hypothesis that human genes influence microbial populations. To identify loci that could influence microbiome phenotypes, we carried out an unbiased GWAS analysis which identified one locus on chromosome 7 near the gene IMMPL2 that reached genome-wide significance after correcting for multiple testing. Another locus on chromosome 12 near the non-coding RNA gene INHBA-AS1 achieved genome-wide significance when analyzed using KGG4 that sums SNP significance across coding genes. Discussion Using multiple methods, we have demonstrated that some aspects of the human oral microbiome are heritable and that with a relatively small sample we were able to identify two previously unidentified loci that may be involved.

Now the more interesting question: if one begins a new exercise regimen, would s/he see a change, or improvement, in the diversity of bacteria in the gut.

Antibiotic resistant urinary tract infections are increasingly common, leaving many looking for natural alternatives. Grapefruit seed extract may be an effective treatment that is safe, affordable and easily accessible

Children and teenagers who are obese have different microorganisms living in the digestive tract than their lean counterparts, according to a new study.

Smoking drastically alters the oral microbiome, the mix of roughly 600 bacterial species that live in people's mouths, a new study has found. The researchers say their analysis is the most comprehensive to date to examine the effects of smoking on the make-up and action of bacterial species in the human mouth based on precise genetic testing.

ReferenceKang DW, Adams JB, Gregory AC, et al. Microbiota Transfer Therapy alters gut ecosystem and improves gastrointestinal and autism symptoms: an open-label study. Microbiome. 2017 Jan 23;5(1):10.DesignProspective, open-label, uncontrolled pilot studyParticipantsEighteen children between the ages of 7 and 16 with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and moderate to severe gastrointestinal (GI) problems.

New research has found a way to partially restore brain cell communication around areas damaged by plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and fourth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. While cancer is largely considered to be a disease of genetic and environmental factors, increasing evidence has demonstrated a role for the microbiota (the microorganisms associated with the human body) in shaping inflammatory environments and promoting tumor growth and spread. Herein, we discuss both human data from meta'omics analyses and data from mechanistic studies in cell culture and animal models that support specific bacterial agents as potentiators of tumorigenesis—including Fusobacterium nucleatum, enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis, and colibactin-producing Escherichia coli. Further, we consider how microbes can be used in diagnosing colorectal cancer and manipulating the tumor environment to encourage better patient outcomes in response to immunotherapy treatments.

Excitingly, new research is finding that the placenta may actually play a significant role in microbiome development of children.

Seven dates a day for three weeks are put to the test in a randomized controlled trial. Subscribe to NutritionFacts.org’s free newsletter to receive our B12 infographic that covers the latest research takeaways and Dr. Greger’s updated recommendations: https://nutritionfacts.org/subscribe/ Here’s those remarkable labor and delivery videos: Best Food for Late Pregnancy (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/best-food-for-late-pregnancy) and Best Food for Labor and Delivery (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/best-food-for-labor-and-delivery). And here’s some recipes! Date Syrup (https://nutritionfacts.org/recipe/date-syrup/) and a Balsamic Date Glaze (https://nutritionfacts.org/recipe/balsamic-date-glaze/). But what about all the sugar in dates? See: If Fructose is Bad, What About Fruit? (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/if-fructose-is-bad-what-about-fruit/). The other video I referenced to is Stool pH and Colon Cancer (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/stool-ph-and-colon-cancer/). I did a month-long video series on mammograms. What about colonoscopies? See: Should We All Get Colonoscopies Starting at Age 50? (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/should-we-all-get-colonoscopies-starting-at-age-50). Have a question about this video? Leave it in the comment section at http://nutritionfacts.org/video/benefit-of-dates-for-colon-health and someone on the NutritionFacts.org team will try to answer it. Want to get a list of links to all the scientific sources used in this video? Click on Sources Cited at http://nutritionfacts.org/video/benefit-of-dates-for-colon-health. You’ll also find a transcript and acknowledgments for the video, my blog and speaking tour schedule, and an easy way to search (by translated language even) through our videos spanning more than 2,000 health topics. If you’d rather watch these videos on YouTube, subscribe to my YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=nutritionfactsorg Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution! -Michael Greger, MD FACLM Captions for this video are available in several languages. To find yours, click on the settings wheel on the lower-right of the video and then "Subtitles/CC." Do you have feedback about the translations in this video? Please share it here along with the title of the video and language: https://nutritionfacts.zendesk.com/hc/requests/new To view the subtitles in transcript format, click on the ellipsis button below the video, choose "Open transcript", and select the language you'd like to view them in. Image credit: ferumov / Adobe Stock Photos https://NutritionFacts.org • Subscribe: https://nutritionfacts.org/subscribe • Donate: https://nutritionfacts.org/donate • Podcast : https://nutritionfacts.org/audio • Facebook: www.facebook.com/NutritionFacts.org • Twitter: www.twitter.com/nutrition_facts • Instagram: www.instagram.com/nutrition_facts_org • Books (including the NEW How Not to Diet Cookbook): https://nutritionfacts.org/books • Shop: https://drgreger.org

Science continues to find the benefits a probiotic-rich diet can have for four key areas of health: your mood, gut health, brain health, and immune system.

The best prebiotics and probiotics come from these foods. Nurture your microbiome and good gut bacteria.