Biome

The report describes two individuals who suffered from significant hair loss related to alopecia who were treated for a gastrointestinal disorder, C. Diff.

A researcher ends the debate among physicians regarding sepsis management.

UCLA researchers gained insight into the connections among childhood trauma, brain development and the composition of the gut microbiome.

Sunlight, through a mechanism separate than vitamin D production, energizes T cells that play a central role in human immunity, researchers have found. The findings suggest how the skin, the body’s largest organ, stays alert to the many microbes that can nest there.

Researchers have discovered that the devastating bacterial superbug Clostridioides difficile hijacks the human wound healing system in order to cause serious and persistent disease, opening up the development of new therapies to treat the disease.

AIM: Long-term dietary intake of non-caloric fiber, such as Aloe vera gel influences the structural and activity of micro-organisms in the human gut. The present investigation was executed with an innovative concept: symbiotic effect of probiotics that are used commercially as lactic acid bacteria i.e. Lactobacillus fermentum and Aloe vera juice as prebiotics for a prospective prophylaxis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fermentation of L. fermentum with Aloe vera juice certified by International Aloe Science Council was carried out and the quantification of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from the fermentation broth in large scale was determined by gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry selective detection in the selective ion monitoring mode. RESULTS: The growth of L. fermentum and L. helveticus with Aloe vera juice (AVJ) individually on MRS broth was continued to keep at pH 3.5 and 3.6, while pH of the negative controls changed to 4.3 and 4.0, respectively, during 24 hr incubation. The growth rate and the viability of L. helveticus incubated with different concentrations (5-25%) of Aloe vera juice were strongly reduced. However, the growth rate of L. fermentum was enhanced in a concentration dependent manner with emphasis on the use of 15% AVJ that resulted in two times more growth than that of the negative control. Continuation of L. fermentum growth at pH 3.6 in combination with AVJ during incubation for 24 hr suggests the durability of prebiotic potential by AVJ in in vitro fermentation. Acetic, propionic and lactic acid as SCFAs in the ether extract were identified from the fermentation culture medium. CONCLUSION: The prebiotic activity of AVJ may be assessed by the participation of SCFAs during 24 hrs-incubation with L. fermentum. An innovative concept of symbiotics: a combination of AVJ and L. fermentum, is a perspective prophylaxis on future intestinal health claims. Due to tolerance to acid, L. fermentum may pass through the gastric barrier and colonize the intestine after oral administration.

It turns out that the brain, which has historically thought to be a sterile environment, may actually be host to its own microbiome; not unlike the environment of the gut!

Between the hard and fast dichotomies of cooked and raw, dead and alive, is this beautiful thing called fermented...

Emerging evidence points toward an important role of the gut-brain axis in neuropsychiatric diseases, suggesting that gut bacteria may be integral contributors to development and function of the nervous system and to the balance between mental health and disease.

Exposure to life stressors exacerbates gastrointestinal conditions, including inflammatory bowel diseases and irritable bowel syndrome, however the me…

Complex communities of microbes live on and in plants, humans and other animals. These communities are collectively referred to as the microbiota or microbiome. Plants and animals evolved to co-exist...

Recent research studies have shown that the intestinal flora are related to the occurrence and progress of breast cancer. This study investigates the effect of fucoidan on intestinal flora and intestinal barrier function in rats with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancers. Sixty female

“It’s the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently,” - Dr. Tom Friedman

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative motor neuron disease accompanied by both systemic and central nervous system–specific…

The Human Microbiome is a diverse and complex microbial community that resides in our gastrointestinal tracts and has been coined a forgotten target metabolic “organ”. With the advent and application of next generation gene sequencing, the microbiome has become appreciated as integral to a number of physiological functions including endocrine, neurology and acquisition of nutrition, and immunity. The state of a healthy biome is a function of diversity and compositional balance. Dynamic alterations to the microbiome have been attributed to a number of factors such as diet, environmental toxins, and medication such as antibiotics.

Cornell Immunotoxicologist, Rodney Dieter, discusses ways to change your diet and microbiome to dampen inflammation, allergies and autoimmune responses.

Beginning at birth, the microbes in the gut perform essential duties related to the digestion and metabolism of food, the development and activation of the immune system, and the production of neurotransmitters that affect behavior and cognitive function.The ...

Chronic kidney disease results in disruption of the intestinal epithelial barrier as well as profound changes in the gut microbial flora. These events…

MCN's mission is to provide the most timely, relevant information to nurses practicing in perinatal, neonatal, midwifery, and pediatric specialties. MCN is a peer-reviewed journal that meets its mission by publishing clinically relevant practice and research manuscripts aimed at assisting nurses toward evidence-based practice. MCN focuses on today's major issues and high priority problems in maternal/child nursing, women's health, and family nursing with extensive coverage of advanced practice healthcare issues relating to infants and young children. Each issue features peer-reviewed, clinically relevant articles. Coverage includes updates on disease and related care; ideas on health promotion; insights into patient and family behavior; discoveries in physiology and pathophysiology; clinical investigations; and research manuscripts that assist nurses toward evidence-based practices.

Thanks to the Human Microbiome Project, we know that we are home to trillions of microbes, the largest number of which are found in our gut. And as in agriculture, diversity tends toward health

The stomach is traditionally regarded as a hollow muscular sac that initiates the second phase of digestion. Yet this simple view ignores the fact that it is the most sophisticated endocrine organ with unique physiology, biochemistry, immunology and microbiology. All ingested materials, including our nutrition, have to negotiate this organ first, and as such, the stomach is arguably the most important segment within the GI tract. The unique biological function of gastric acid secretion not only initiates the digestive process but also acts as a first line of defence against food-borne microbes. Normal gastric physiology and morphology may be disrupted by Helicobacter pylori infection, the most common chronic bacterial infection in the world and the aetiological agent for most peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. In this state-of-the-art review, the most relevant new aspects of the stomach in health and disease are addressed. Topics include gastric physiology and the role of gastric dysmotility in dyspepsia and gastroparesis; the stomach in appetite control and obesity; there is an update on the immunology of the stomach and the emerging field of the gastric microbiome. H. pylori -induced gastritis and its associated diseases including peptic ulcers and gastric cancer are addressed together with advances in diagnosis. The conclusions provide a future approach to gastric diseases underpinned by the concept that a healthy stomach is the gateway to a healthy and balanced host . This philosophy should reinforce any public health efforts designed to eradicate major gastric diseases, including stomach cancer.

The vaginal microbiome plays an important role in maternal and neonatal health. Imbalances in this microbiota (dysbiosis) during pregnancy are associated with negative reproductive outcomes, such as pregnancy loss and preterm birth, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Consequentl …

Chlorhexidine-alcohol skin prep is superior to iodine-alcohol for preventing infection after C-section, according to a new study. Rather than prepping patients with iodine-alcohol -- a common antiseptic combination in C-sections -- the research indicates that chlorhexidine-alcohol is significantly more effective. The researchers argue that the evidence is strong enough to change standard skin-prep practices for C-sections.

The last thing anyone wants during a stay in the hospital is a hospital-acquired infection. Nosocomial infections, as they are called, are on the rise as more pathogens become resistant to drugs currently available.