Gut bugs and health Patrick Bateson
Characteristic odour of kin group is produced by inherited bacterial flora degrading fats secreted by anal glands
An increasing number of people in developed countries suffer from chronic diarrhea.
Clostridium difficile
Various immunological and autoimmune diseases are much less common in the developing world than the industrialized world and that immigrants to the industrialized world from the developing world increasingly develop immunological disorders in relation to the length of time since arrival in the industrialized world. Strachan (1989) proposed in the the BMJ that allergic diseases such as hay fever and eczema, were less common in children from larger families, which were presumably exposed to more infectious agents through their siblings, than in children from families with only one child.
Antibiotics that frequently predispose patient to infection by C. difficile bacteria and hence chronic diarrhea and colitis. Ampicillin Amoxoxycilliin Cephalosporins Clindamycin Other Penicillins
Gut microbiota, consists of a complex community of microorganism species is the largest reservoir of microorganisms living mutually with humans. The human body carries about 100 trillion microorganisms in its intestines, a number ten times greater than the total number of human cells in the body. The complex ecological system has been difficult to study because the organisms are anaerobic and killed by exposure to oxygen.
Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) Faecal bacteria from a healthy individual is transplanted into a recipient suffering from C. difficile infection. This introduces healthy bacterial flora through infusion of a stool, e.g. by enema, orogastric tube or orally in the form of a capsule containing freeze dried material, obtained from a healthy donor.
Probiotics promote healthy intestinal flora to support bowel function, they help maintain digestive balance by promoting good bacteria levels and they promote the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria. The European Food Safety Authority has ruled out all of these claims as there is not enough evidence to suggest a cause and effect relationship.
In a very small number of cases, people with faecal transplants become obese or change their personality characteristics (reported in New Scientist on 14 February 2015)
Asthma prevalence per 100,000 of the population
Asthma prevalence across the world
1,756,700 singletons in Norway between 1967 and 1998, followed up to age 18 years or the year 2002. Exposure was the mode of delivery (spontaneous vaginal, instrumental vaginal, or Caesarian Section. Increased risk of asthma in the children delivered by CS.
Two million Danish children born between 1973 and 2012 investigated People born by C-section, more often suffer from chronic disorders such as asthma, rheumatism, allergies, bowel disorders, and leukaemia than people born naturally. Children born by C-section have been more frequently hospitalised than those born vaginally due to asthma, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disorder, immune system defects, leukaemia, and other tissue disorders during their lives. The risk of developing asthma is 20 per cent higher if you are born by C-section. approximately 40 per cent greater risk of developing immune defects and a 10 per cent greater risk of developing juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Some effects occur very early in development. In these cases the immune system needs to be trained to distinguish self from non-self. When it doesn t the individual can develop auto-immune diseases that persist throughout life. Other effects may be found throughout the life cycle. Wiping out the gut flora with powerful anti-biotics can lead to many diseases of th gut which are curable
Diversity and turnover of bacterial species in the gut is a key factor for priming and regulating the immune system, rather than stable colonisation with a particular species. The embryonic immune system is likened to a computer that contains programmes but little data. During gestation and infancy exposure to diverse organisms builds a "database"