Upon working through the materials this week, I became more aware of the incredible size and diversity of microorganism communities that have integrated themselves into the human gut, as well as the substantial role they play there.
The readings explained that an alteration to the microbial communities could positively or negatively impact their host; either improving physiology, metabolism and immune functions, or contributing to the cause of numerous intestinal conditions, diseases and disorders. The continued survival of our commensal relationship with good gut-dwelling bacteria relies on the nature of our behaviors and the consequences they hold.
Prebiotics For Our Probiotics:
Ingestion of foods or pills containing prebiotics (carbohydrates that humans are unable to digest) acts as a direct delivery system for the nourishment that our natural probiotics (the intestinal “good bacteria”) need. Without this purposeful push in the right direction, the concentration of beneficial bacteria within our gut may dwindle, leaving only the phyla that bolster disease and alter our physiology for the worse. Introduction of prebiotics as a treatment in intestinal disorders has yielded favorable results in the health of individuals monitored in research studies. Overall, promoting the growth and health of our more desirable probiotic communities helps to maintain their beneficial existence and negate the impact our less-helpful behaviors might have on them.
Faecal Microbial Transplant (FMT)
As the name might suggest, treatment by FMT relies on the transplantation of a model microbial community, given by the faecal matter belonging to a healthy donor, to an individual suffering the consequences of imbalanced and unsettled microbial populations within the gut. Introducing a matured crop of good bacteria into the GI tract of someone who severely lacks them would disrupt the uneven proportions of good to bad bacteria by diluting the heavy concentrations of the latter. Armed with the development of FMT against one bacterium in particular, Clostridium difficile (known for causing mild to fatal infection), resulted in remission in approximately 92% of reported and documented cases. When the usual route of treatment fails, due to the bacteria’s acquisition of immunity, or just the sheer severity of its infection, FMT offers a promising opportunity to regain optimal intestinal health.
Use of Antibiotics
A longtime course of treatment against numerous types of bacteria, the unintentional effects of antibiotics have recently become a cause for concern. While most notably offering the infecting bacteria an opportunity to familiarize itself with the exogenous attacker, allowing it to eventually develop an immunity against it, the popular therapeutic regimen can also have unintended effects on other bacteria present in the gut. The habitual use of antibiotics by humans has been shown to eliminate our beneficial, commensal bacteria as well, leaving our intestinal tract with an abundance of vacant real estate that many phyla of dangerous pathogens would be more than happy to occupy.
Citations:
Guinane, Caitriona M., Cotter, Paul D. 2013. Role of the gut microbiota in health and chronic gastrointestinal disease: understanding a hidden metabolic organ. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology: SAGE Journals. 6(4): 295-308.
Mayo Clinic Staff. 2016. C. difficile Infection. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/c-difficile/symptoms-causes/syc-20351691.
Smith, Michael W., Martin, Laura J. 2012. Probiotics and Prebiotics: Ask the Nutritionist on WebMD. WebMD. www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/nutrition-vitamins-11/probiotics.
