Gut Microbiome
Thrillions of microorganisms in the human digestive-tract are referred to as the gut microbiome / microbiota. The human gut microbiome and its role in both health and disease has been the subject of extensive research, establishing its involvement in human metabolism, nutrition, physiology, and immune function.
Great progress in characterizing the structure of the microbiome recently has paved the way for ongoing and future studies on the functional interactions between the microbiota and the host.
Microbiota in a Healthy Gut
The gut microbiota are mainly composed of strict anaerobes, which outnumber the facultative anaerobes— organisms able to grow both aerobically and anaerobically— and the aerobes by up to 100-fold. Healthy adult humans each typically harbor more than 1000 species of bacteria belonging to a relatively few known bacterial phyla with Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes being the dominant phyla.
Host-microbe interactions on the immune system
Interactions between the microbiota and the host immune system are numerous, complex, and bidirectional. The immune system must learn to tolerate the commensal microbiota and respond appropriately to pathogens, and in turn the microbiota is integral to educating the immune system to function properly.
Gut Dysbiosis and disease
An individual’s microbiome is quite stable over time, but there is variability at the extremes of age and among different individuals.
The global incidence of numerous immune-mediated, metabolic, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric diseases is steadily increasing. It is becoming increasingly clear that the gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of many, if not all, of these diseases and susceptibility to infection.
Recent studies have proposed that gut microbiota and its metabolites could play a pivotal role in the modulation of immune system responses and the development of autoimmunity in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or type 1 diabetes.
The most typical features of dysbiosis are a decrease in the diversity of the microbiota, a loss of beneficial microbiota, or an overgrowth of harmful microbiota. Dysbiosis can be caused by host-specific factors such as genetic background, health status (infections, inflammation), and lifestyle habits or—more importantly—environmental factors such as diet (high sugar, low fibre), xenobiotics (antibiotics, drugs, food additives), and hygiene.
How to restore Gut Microbiota and Regain Health?
Total Gut Restoration is an advanced protocol to support and restore gut health.
It includes Functional medicine consultations, advanced diagnostics and supplements working to support a healthy gut, including maintaining a healthy and harmonious microbial ecosystem, promoting a protective gut barrier, and supplying precision bacterial species that support balanced immune and digestive function. Indeed, a healthy gut is a necessary foundation for supporting a healthy immune system.
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)
Fecal transplantation is also called fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), stool transplant, bacteriotherapy or intestinal microbiota transplant. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a valuable tool for uncovering the role of gut microbiota in the pathological processes.
FMT can be a potential modality of treatment for various gastrointestinal conditions and neurological disorders etc
The procedure works by taking healthy bacteria (microbiota) from the feces of a carefully screened donor and transferring them to the colon of the recipient.
Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can be administered through oral capsules, nasogastric tubes, endoscopy, colonoscopy, enemas, etc.
Donor health, stool quality of donor, and recipient’s gut environment are critical for the success of FMT.
FMT is finding applications into various diseases.
