"We found that the combination of microbes in the human intestine isn't random," says Peer Bork, who led the study at EMBL: "our gut flora can settle into three different types of community – three different ecosystems, if you like."
The study consisted of a total of 124 people from three different continents and three gut types, or enterotypes, were identified. These gut types seem to be independent of traits like age, gender, nationality and body-mass index. However, the guts of older people seem to have more microbial genes involved in breaking down carbohydrates. This could be because bacteria take up the task in order to survive in the gut. When diagnosing likelihood of a patient contracting a disease, doctors could look for clues not only in the body but also in the bacteria that live in it. After diagnosis, treatment could be adapted to the patient's gut type to ensure the best results.
I hope research continues on this discovery to possibly uncover links to gastrointestinal disorders such as celiac disease, crohns disease and irritable bowel disease. If a link is found perhaps new treatments could be designed that are specifically tailored to a persons gut flora. I also wonder if these discoveries will have any impact on the use and questionable effectiveness of probiotics.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting study, and I hope further research of this topic continues. Knowing how your "gut" works and how its effected by different genes can help people live normal lives. When you think about it the way your belly is feeling day to day effects exactly how and what you are going to accomplish. They need to however do a study that does look at factors such as age, gender, nationality and body-mass index. I believe these are important traits in why certain people are effected by certain diseases.
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