Archives des Early Life & Infants

New insights on the potential of gut bacteria and breast milk oligosaccharides to prevent childhood malnutrition

30 Mar 2016

by Andreu Prados

Childhood undernutrition affects millions of children worldwide and has long-term severe effects, which include stunted growth and impaired cognitive development, among others. A recent study, led by Dr. Jeffrey Gordon from the Centre for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (USA), found that gut bacteria could be considered a useful tool for ameliorating the harmful side effects of malnutrition in mice.

Finding early-life microbiota markers of asthma risk

2 Nov 2015

by Kristina Campbell

Researchers know the fecal microbiota of infants is a treasure trove of information -- it can reveal details about delivery mode and diet -- but microbiota-based predictions about future health are only beginning to emerge. A team of researchers led

Microbe Translocation and Colonization in the Womb

30 Oct 2015

by Keith Bell

How might microorganisms move from one part of the body to another? Let's begin with the womb, where the concept of fetal colonization has rapidly gained acceptance, indicated by meconium and placental microbe studies.

What does the gut virome reveal in children at risk for malnutrition?

13 Oct 2015

by Kristina Campbell

Reyes, et al., from Gordon’s team, aimed to characterize microbial community development in healthy and malnourished children aged zero to three. They studied Malawian twin pairs: those concordant for healthy growth, and those in which one developed severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and the other did not -- that is, discordant pairs.

Gut Microbiota for Health Summit 2015: Key findings for paediatricians

7 Oct 2015

by GMFH Editing Team

In this online & interactive document, "Paediatric Learnings from Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit", we share the newest gut microbiota research relevant to paediatricians.

The gut microbiota of healthy pre-adolescents

24 Sep 2015

by James Versalovic

In this study, Texas researchers investigated the structure, function, and variation of the gut microbiota in healthy children, aged 7-12 years (n = 37).

Reduced incidence of atopic dermatitis in children whose mothers consumed probiotics

1 Sep 2015

by Paul Enck

If a healthy mother consumes probiotics in the perinatal period, does it affect allergy-related diseases in her child at six years of age?

Chinese research shows diet can alter gut microbiota to treat obesity

13 Aug 2015

by Kristina Campbell

A recent study lent insight into the role of the microbiota in both diet-related and genetic obesity in humans.

Bifidobacteria colonization in newborns

5 Aug 2015

by GMFH Editing Team

Bifidobacteria is a key marker of a healthy gut flora in infants. A Brazilian study of 49 newborns -- 24 full-term and 25 pre-term (31.2 weeks) -- explored the prevalence and concentration of bifidobacteria in stools of one-month-old newborns using qPCR.

Low FODMAP diet can decrease abdominal pain in children with IBS

24 Jul 2015

by James Versalovic

Previous research has shown that adults with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who adopt a low FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) diet show an improvement in symptoms within 2 days. Would the low FODMAP diet have the same effect in childhood IBS? Does the gut microbiota predict the success of the diet in children who respond to this dietary intervention?