I think researchers are only now just scratching the surface of understanding the human microbiome and its effects on us. Fecal microbiome transplants are already used in treatment of Ulcerative...
I think researchers are only now just scratching the surface of understanding the human microbiome and its effects on us. Fecal microbiome transplants are already used in treatment of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease but it's interesting to hear it may have some uses in treating certain types of cancers as well.
I also remember reading some articles a few years ago about them being used to treat neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depression disorder as well. It's kind of crazy to think gut flora would influence our mental state in any way but the evidence seems to be mounting that there may indeed be some microbiota-gut-brain connection. Neat.
It's a fascinating area. I took an intro course in genome sequencing and microbiomes, and our professor was doing research into the development of type 1 diabetes in kids with known elevated risk....
It's a fascinating area. I took an intro course in genome sequencing and microbiomes, and our professor was doing research into the development of type 1 diabetes in kids with known elevated risk.
I think they were still in the stages of testing proposed mechanisms (one involved lower levels of butyrate-producing bacteria, I think), but they could look at microbiome composition and predict whether a kid became diabetic around 60% of the time. (It's been a while, so I may not be remember it perfectly... Might be cool to see what his lab has done since then.)
I think researchers are only now just scratching the surface of understanding the human microbiome and its effects on us. Fecal microbiome transplants are already used in treatment of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease but it's interesting to hear it may have some uses in treating certain types of cancers as well.
I also remember reading some articles a few years ago about them being used to treat neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depression disorder as well. It's kind of crazy to think gut flora would influence our mental state in any way but the evidence seems to be mounting that there may indeed be some microbiota-gut-brain connection. Neat.
It's a fascinating area. I took an intro course in genome sequencing and microbiomes, and our professor was doing research into the development of type 1 diabetes in kids with known elevated risk.
I think they were still in the stages of testing proposed mechanisms (one involved lower levels of butyrate-producing bacteria, I think), but they could look at microbiome composition and predict whether a kid became diabetic around 60% of the time. (It's been a while, so I may not be remember it perfectly... Might be cool to see what his lab has done since then.)