If I were the head of a funding agency there are a couple of different projects that I would be interested in funding because learning more about microorganisms and how they affect different disease states and health in people is important. I think more research should be done regarding microorganisms and mental health and also more research into Helicobacter pylori to determine if there are benefits to looking at the overall system to help people get better.
I think learning more about the relationships between microorganisms and mental health would be beneficial so we can see if there is a way we can modify the gut microbiota to help those with mental health issues. This would also allow us to see the relationship between the blood brain barrier and the microorganisms and determine if there is a breakdown in the barrier causing microorganisms to travel across it. Currently it appears that there is a possible correlation but I think it would be more beneficial to know if there is a strong correlation or even possibly a causation. I think it would be important to learn more about how microorganisms utilize conditions in the body to cause problems. I guess I would be curious to know if a flare-up of mental health issues (for instance schizophrenia) increases the likelihood that the patient will have other infectious diseases that crop up around the same time as well. I think this would be a good project to fund because then we can start to help people take care of their mental health and their microorganism health.
My wanting to fund more research into Helicobacter pylori stems from finding H. pylori a fascinating microorganism and I do not think we fully understand how it works and what it does in the person. I think it would be beneficial to learn more about the microorganism before we take steps to eliminate it from everyone. It is possible that it is an important microorganism that we are overlooking the benefits of because a subset of people who are infected with H. pylori get sick. I would also like to see if there is a link between H. pylori and other diseases that may not be directly affected by H. pylori.
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