On the second day of the 2016 GMFH meeting, several speakers addressed the topic of the definition of probiotics. To my surprise, some of the speakers seemed to be unclear about the definition of a probiotic.
Gut Microbiota Research & Practice is a section dedicated to promoting knowledge-sharing and debate among researchers, scientists and healthcare professionals. You will find a selection of discussions about articles from scientific literature as well as other content including interviews with experts, event reports, and special publications.
A recent study, led by Prof. Peter Holzer from the Research Unit of Translational Neurogastroenterology at Medical University of Graz in Austria, has found that intragastric treatment of mice with an antibiotic mixture impaired novel object recognition. This cognitive effect was associated with a disruption of the microbial communities in the colon, a depletion of bacteria-derived metabolites in the colon, and particular changes of neurochemical brain activity.
What is the current state-of-the-art of faecal microbiota transplantation?
25 Apr 2016by Andreu Prados
Faecal microbiota transplantation has been demonstrated to be a safe and highly effective therapeutic option for refractory C. difficile infection (CDI), and many studies have shown that it may possibly have applications in other illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and in particular for ulcerative colitis (UC).
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most frequent metabolic complications of pregnancy and its prevalence is up to 12% in developed countries. Nowadays, several studies are investigating new therapies for glucose control that may complement diet, exercise, and pharmacological therapies.
Clinical implications of recent study exploring ‘microbial restoration procedure’ for caesarean-born infants
20 Apr 2016by Kristina Campbell
Mode of delivery is known to influence the microbiota composition of newborns. Vaginally-born infants develop a microbiota that resembles the mother's vaginal bacterial community, while those born by caesarean section (c-section) have a microbiota that more closely resembles adult skin.
How the transition to family foods may influence infant gut microbiota development
18 Apr 2016by Andreu Prados
A recent study, led by Dr. Tine Rask Licht, head of the Research Group for Microbiology and Immunology from the National Food Institute at Technical University of Denmark, found that the development and establishment of the infant gut microbiota at 9 months of age is primarily driven by the transition to family foods, independently of maternal obesity.
A novel review, led by Dr. Andrés Moya from the University of Valencia (Spain) and Dr. Manuel Ferrer from the Institute of Catalysis at Spanish National Research Council in Madrid (Spain), argues that a network-biology approach can help us understand how our gut microbiota is continuously changing in the gut environment.
Over the last decade, the proportion of the developed world’s population over the age of 65 years has increased by more than 10%.
Impact of lifestyle and diet on gut bacterial communities across geographically and culturally diverse human populations
11 Apr 2016by Andreu Prados
A recent study, published by the microbial ecologist Dr. Andres Gomez, a staff scientist at the J. Craig Venter Institute, studied diet and environmental factors in traditional populations and how they were associated with gut microbiome composition.
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasingly rapidly around the globe and has challenged researchers to investigate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.
