Colby Webb – Blog for BHS 323

Hassan Salmanroghani et. al., in their research paper titled: “Efficacy and tolerability of two quadruple regimens: bismuth, omeprazole, metronidazole with amoxicillin or tetracycline as first-line treatment for eradication of Helicobacter pylori in patients with duodenal ulcer: a randomized clinical trial”, (2018) evaluates the efficacy of two quadruple treatment regimens for eradication duodenal cancers in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori with bismuth, omeprazole, metronidazole with amoxicillin or tetracyline and asserts that an amoxicillin quadruple regimen method is the most efficient metho for eradication of H. pylori. The conclusion of an amoxicillin treatment was come upon through experimental trial and result of amoxicillin yielding more efficient results than that of a quadruple regimen containing tetracycline. The purpose of this clinical trial was to determine the efficacy of multiple quadruple regimens compared amongst each other for eradication of Helicobacter pylori in those with duodenal cancers for future treatment protocol. Salmanroghani et. al., establishes a scholarly relationship with peers in microbiological and cell & molecular sciences fields of expertise.

 

Reference:

1. Salmanroghani, H., Mirvakili, M., Baghbanian, M., Salmanroghani, R., Sanati, G., & Yazdian, P. (2018). Efficacy and tolerability of two quadruple regimens: bismuth, omeprazole, metronidazole with amoxicillin or tetracycline as first-line treatment for eradication of Helicobacter pylori in patients with duodenal ulcer: a randomized clinical trial. Plos One, 13. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0197096

Prompt: Brainstorm a list of behaviors that an individual could engage in that could cause changes to a gut microbial community. For each behavior you list, discuss how that behavior could change the microbial community, and what potential health impacts (beneficial, detrimental, neutral) that change could be for the individual’s health.

1. Take Probiotic/Health Supplements – In modern society, so many people are constantly on the go. With that, people tend to take shortcuts in areas that could very well be detrimental to their health. It is in my opinion, necessary to keep up with a healthy diet while practicing consistent exercise routines. Technology is so advanced, and supplements are easily accessible, so something like a multivitamin and a probiotic supplement each day are an easy tool to keep our bodies healthy and balanced. A probiotic supplement is especially beneficial for our gut health, because probiotics assist in microbe growth prevention in the gut.
2. Well-balanced, colorful diet – Eating a variety of clean foods is especially beneficial for changing the microbial community in our guts. Each food group brings a different set of vitamins and nutrients “to the table” when it comes to human health. Berries, greens, and lean, grass-fed meats are all amongst foods that promote good health and are full of vitamins and antioxidants, all of which could be beneficial to the gut microbiome.
3. Limiting the use of antibiotics – Overconsumption of antibiotics seems to be a large issue in the United States at the moment. The conversation that many people are having is how antibiotics are going to affect both humans and viruses/microbes/parasites in the future. The reason for this is because of antibiotic resistance. Viruses, bacterias, and parasites are super efficient when it comes to survival, so they can often become resistant to antibiotic treatment. The problem with gut health and antibiotics is that there is a deprivation of gut bacteria during antibiotic administration. Although most gut bacteria can recover, the overconsumption of antibiotics could cause more deprivation in our gut bacteria than we can recover from. Chris Kresser is someone I would recommend researching on this topic. He has multiple books and articles on diet, medicine, and the correlation to gut health.

The High Price of Antibiotic Use: Can Our Guts Ever Fully Recover?

Prompt: As a healthcare professional, a colleague asks your opinion as to which HPV strains should be covered in a new treatment. Based on your reading from the Sarid and Gao 2011 article, what would your recommendation be, and when should the treatment be administered? What evidence supports your opinion? Keep in mind a cost/benefit analysis, as the cost of developing a vaccine for each strain can get very pricey! (You should not indicate “all of them” in your answer, unless you have strong supportive evidence).

Human Papilloma Virus affects about 80 million people in America, and there are around 14 million new cases every year. HPV is a group of more than 150 related viruses that affect people in a number of ways, including some cases causing genital warts and cancer. In total, researchers have found 12 different strains of HPV that could be potentially carcinogenic to humans. 4 of these HPV strains have been deemed as “high risk,” and there are two others that have been proven through research to be carcinogenic. There are vaccines available for both HPV 16 and HPV 18 that have also proven effective against those particular strains, however, there are more HPV strains that are thought to be potentially high-risk. The interesting thing about HPV, and in my opinion, the good thing about it, is that between the 12 known strains of HPV,  nearly all of them have been researched and seen to be one of the sole causes of cervical cancer in women. I say that this is the good thing about it because that means that scientists are only a couple steps away (hopefully) from treating, and possibly curing the causes for cervical cancer in the future. HPV has also been linked to a series of other cancers as well, which means that there is something needed to be done about possibly developing new vaccines that could cover more HPV strains.

Unfortunately, the issue with the development of a more efficient HPV vaccine that would protect people against more than just HPV16 and HPV18 is that the vaccine creative process takes more than just a lot of time and money, and it is already unlikely that they would be able to create a single vaccine to protect everyone from every strain of HPV. So, we know that there are 12 strains, and we also know that the probability of protection against every one of them is low. I propose, surely along with many others that the next step would be to develop a vaccine that works against the top 4 high-risk strains of HPV. With that, the risk factor of the virus causing cancer would be much lower than it is now. The idea is to continually lower risk factors. After we create a vaccine covering the 4 high-risk strains, then scientists could work to develop more protection/treatment and even work towards prevention.

As for when the treatment should be administered, I would say that it is more effective to administer a vaccine of this sort before the patients become sexually active in their lives. We know this, because HPV is a sexually transmitted disease, so we would all benefit from vaccinations before the late stages of puberty (sexual activity). I believe that this is a good time to administer the vaccine because 1. the patient is probably not yet sexually active, and 2. there should be no issue with the effectiveness of the vaccine diminishing before exposure to the virus.

References:

Non-infectious diseases in humans that are caused by microorganisms are probably much more abundant than those that I can think of off of my own knowledge, but I do see where the assignment instructions want us to recall from our own knowledge.

The diseases I can think of are:

• Colon Cancer
• Alzheimer’s
• IBD (bowel disease)
• Coronary Heart Disease
• Diabetes
• Chronic Lung Disease

That is pretty much the extent of my immediate knowledge of non-infectious diseases that are caused by microorganisms. I do know that I could name off diseases all day, but not the kind associated with those tiny little organisms. This is something that I am particularly interested in for my future, however. I am so obsessed at the moment with the idea that certain bacteria in our guts could be the reason for some of our daily problems in life. I would love to learn more about gut microbiome imbalances, inflammation, etc. I would put the affects of microorganisms on our daily lives and our futures in a similar, if not the same category. With that being said, the name of this course is indeed all of the words that I just said, so I believe that I will have no problem staying entertained and interested throughout the term.

Conclusion: I want to learn so much more about the gut microbiome. Tell me everything.

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