Publications

BMJ Open Gastroenterology

The objective of this study was to compare gut microbiome diversity and composition in SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed positive patients whose symptoms ranged from asymptomatic to severe, versus PCR-negative exposed controls. Using a cross-sectional study design, we used shotgun next-generation sequencing (NGS) to evaluate microbiome composition and diversity in both patients with SARS-CoV-2 PCR-confirmed infections presenting [...]

Frontiers in Microbiology 

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic agent that has gained attention as a potential COVID-19 therapeutic. It is a compound of the type Avermectin, which is a fermented by-product of Streptomyces avermitilis. Bifidobacterium is a member of the same phylum as Streptomyces spp., suggesting it may have a symbiotic relation with Streptomyces. Decreased Bifidobacterium levels are observed in COVID-19 susceptibility states, including old age, autoimmune disorder, and obesity. We hypothesize that Ivermectin  [...]

Future Medicine

Aims: Ivermectin is a safe, inexpensive and effective early COVID-19 treatment validated in 20+ random, controlled trials. Having developed combination therapies for Helicobacter pylori, the authors present a highly effective COVID-19 therapeutic combination, stemming from clinical observations. Patients & methods: In 24 COVID-19 subjects refusing hospitalization with high-risk features, hypoxia and untreated moderate to severe symptoms averaging 9 days, the authors administered this novel combination of ivermectin, doxycycline, zinc and vitamins D and C. Results & conclusions: All subjects  

[...]

Future Medicine

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is used as a supplement for fighting infectious disorders. Many disorders, including COVID-19 and cancer, harmfully disrupt the levels of bacteria that naturally reside in the gut, which may contribute to symptoms. The aim of the study was to understand whether high-dose vitamin C could improve the types of bacteria in the human gut. To do this we characterized the gut bacteria before and after 23 individuals took vitamin C, as prescribed by their respective physicians. We observed [...]

Cureus

 Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are chronic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis and inflammation. Serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin (SBI) is used to manage IBS and IBD and has shown prebiotic-like effects in ex vivo models. Re-establishing a healthy gut microbiome with novel treatments like SBI could help treat the underlying causes of these diseases leading to higher and sustained patient response. The objective of this study was to assess whether supplementation with SBI would improve dysbiosis in IBD and IBS patients. [...]

Elmer Press

 This case report describes a novel therapy for patients with severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is worth further investigation. A 19-year-old male adolescent with ASD, who was not responding to  standard  treatment  received  fecal  microbiota  transplant  (FMT)  using donor material from his typically developing female sibling. The patient’s ASD symptoms were assessed by assessors who were blind  to  the  patient’s  past  ASD  symptomatology. [...] 

BMC Cardiovascular Disorders

 Hydroxychloroquine paired with Azithromycin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc (HAZDPac), was used as a multidrug therapy method to treat COVID-19 illness and superimposed secondary bacterial pneumonia. Concerns have been raised though about such combinations regarding cardiac QTc interval prolongation and risks of arrhythmias, which we set out to address in this study.  We evaluated cardiac safety in a Phase II Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Combination Therapy to Treat COVID-19 Infections study, conducted by ProgenaBiome. Acutely ill patients with COVID-19 had QTc intervals recorded in an outpatient setting utilizing a continuously worn EKG monitor for the duration of the 10 days treatment. QTc intervals were normally distributed. [...]

MDPI

 The gut–brain axis, significantly influenced by the gut microbiome, is a growing focus in mental health research. This study aimed to investigate gut microbiome differences between anxious and non-anxious participants. Methods: A convenience sample of 119 participants consisted of 56 participants with self-assessed low to zero levels of anxiety and 63 with self-assessed mild to severe levels of anxiety, using the self-rated Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) test. [...]

MDPI

 For the past 70 years, the dopamine hypothesis has been the key working model in schizophrenia. This has contributed to the development of numerous inhibitors of dopaminergic signaling and antipsychotic drugs, which led to rapid symptom resolution but only marginal outcome improvement. Over the past decades, there has been limited research on the quantifiable pathological changes in schizophrenia, including premature cellular/neuronal senescence, brain volume loss, the attenuation of gamma oscillations in electroencephalograms, and the oxidation of lipids in the plasma and mitochondrial membranes.  [...].  

Cureus

 Several treatments and preventive measures for SARS-CoV-2 were studied during the pandemic, but few focused on the neonatal gut microbiome and its role in the setting of COVID-19. This case report is unique because it describes the gut microbiomes of a mother and her newborn, who both contracted COVID-19 shortly after the baby’s birth. In this prospective study, on day 11 postpartum, both the newborn and mother (38 years old), of white race/ethnicity, were exposed to a COVID-19-positive person.  n. After exposure, the mother received a 40,000 IU bolus of vitamin D orally and started a five-day course of high-dose vitamin C (10,000 mg daily), after which she continued her daily combination of vitamins C, D, and zinc pill with probiotic skyr yogurt and manuka honey. [...]

Gavin Publishers

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a family of enveloped viruses with a single-strand, positive-sense RNA genome approximately 26-32 kilobases in size, which is the largest known genome for an RNA virus [1]. In humans, coronavirus infections primarily involve the upper and lower respiratory tract as well as the gastrointestinal tract, and symptoms vary from mild, self-limiting disease (e.g., the common cold, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting) to more severe manifestations (e.g., bronchitis and pneumonia with renal involvement)  [...]

Pub Med

General background: the dialog between the central nervous system and gut microbiota has raised significant interest over the past decade, suggesting that dysbiosis and bacterial translocation outside of the gastrointestinal tract may contribute to neuropsychiatric pathology. 

Emil Kraepelin believed that dementia praecox, the disorder we now call schizophrenia, was caused by brain poisoning with toxins generated in other parts of the body, especially the mouth, intestine, or genitals. In this regard, Kraepelin hinted at the microbiome and conceptualized microbial molecules as drivers of severe psychiatric illness. However, it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic that Kraepelin’s paradigm gained traction, particularly because this virus was associated with both gut barrier disruption and new onset psychosis.   [...]

The messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for COVID-19, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, were authorized in the US on an emergency basis in December of 2020. The rapid distribution of these therapeutics around the country and the world led to millions of people being vaccinated in a short time span, an action that decreased hospitalization and death but also heightened the concerns about adverse effects and drug-vaccine interactions. The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are of particular interest as they form the vanguard of a range of other mRNA therapeutics that are currently in the development pipeline, focusing both on infectious diseases as well as oncological applications. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has gained additional attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically regarding the rollout of mRNA therapeutics. However, for VAERS, absence of a reporting platform for drug-vaccine interactions left these events poorly defined.  [...]

International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Invention 

The Human Microbiome Project, launched in in 2007, and the discovery of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in 2008 are major advances that have begun to shed light on the pathogenesis of some disorders of uncertain etiology, including autoimmune, fibrotic, and neuropsychiatric illnesses, as well as the potential interaction of systemic infections with the gut-brain axis. 

The gut microbial community is immunologically ―tolerated‖ in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract but may elicit immunogenicity and pathology upon translocation into host tissues (1) (2). Indeed, in the former case long- term, low-grade inflammation may eventually lead to disease (3), while in the latter case, numerous studies have reported the presence of intestinal microbes and/or their molecules as part of observed pathology within host tissues, such as the circulatory system and the brain (4) (5).  [...]

Endocrines

Similar to previous pandemics, COVID-19 has been succeeded by well-documented post-infectious sequelae, including chronic fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, myalgia, and concentration difficulties, which may last 5 to 12 weeks or longer after the acute phase of illness. Both the psychological stress of SARS-CoV-2 infection and being diagnosed with COVID-19 can upregulate cortisol, a stress hormone that disrupts the efferocytosis effectors, macrophages, and natural killer cells, leading to the excessive accumulation of senescent cells and disruption of  [...]

Advances In Clinical And Medical Research

We read with great interest the article by Ambati BK, et al. “MSH3 Homology and Potential Recombination Link to SARS-CoV-2 Furin Cleavage Site” published on February 21st, 2022 in Frontiers in Virology. This perspective paper highlights a 19-nucleotide genetic sequence, a reverse complement of the human MSH3 gene, that contains the SARS-CoV-2 furin cleavage site (FCS). As this sequence (SEQ ID11652) was patented by Moderna in 2016 (US patent 9,587,003), some have suggested that the FCS may have been known prior to the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. 

Aside from its well-established role in averting tumor genesis, novel preclinical studies found that MSH3 is a key regulator of short tandem repeats  [...]

A recent study by Ahrens AP, et al. on university students with suicidal ideation has highlighted the connection between immunity and psychopathology, especially major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidality (1)(2)(3). This study has found that four major histocompatibility complex (MHC) alleles and the absence of oral microbe Alloprevotella rava increase the risk of suicidal behavior, emphasizing a microbial-genetic link in this pathology.   [...]

Frontiers in Immunology    

We read with great interest the paper by Beaudoin CA et al. “Are There Hidden Genes in DNA/RNA Vaccines?”, reporting overlapping sequences between the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein and two viral genes (1). If translated, the undesired proteins may cause rare, 

untoward effects, including those recorded in Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). 

These findings are in line with our own research and that of others however, aside from overlapping genes (OLGs), the S protein also contains overlapping molecular structures and signals (heptad repeats, simple sequence repeats, calcium calmodulin kinase II, and prion-like domains) that can lead to VAERS-recorded pathology (2-6).   [...]

 Gut microbes are immunologically tolerated in the gastrointestinal tract but trigger aggressive immune responses upon translocation across the gut barrier. Although oral tolerance, a physiological process that dampens immune responses to food proteins and commensal microbiota, remains poorly defined, significant progress was made during and after the Human Immunodeficiency Virus epidemic in the 1980s and the discovery of regulatory T cells in 1995. Additional insight was gained after the discoveries of innate lymphoid cells in 2008 and the functional elucidation of mucosal mast cells. Prior to the historical discovery of human pathogens, the etiologies of most human diseases were considered unknown. The same was true about many genetic disorders prior to the Human Genome Project. Here, we hypothesize that many of the remaining idiopathic conditions, including autoimmune, fibroproliferative, and neuropsychiatric diseases as well as some cancers, can be considered microbial translocation disorders triggered by the host immune responses to extraintestinal gut microbes and/or their constituent parts. . [...]

Future Medicine

Many thanks for your review of our observational study report of patients who 'did not qualify' for the randomized trial referenced by the NCT. These patients were treated along the lines of the rapidly evolving community standard of care for high-risk patients COVID-19. Age is an important risk-stratifier and our sample included 47, 46, 46 and 43 year olds individuals but in addition five notable patients were 94, 86, 92, 87 years of age, far away from a threshold of 50. All of these elderly patients survived. [...]

OXFORD

 The incidence and severity of Clostridioides difficile infection  (CDI) have markedly increased during the last 2 decades [1–3].  Although in the majority of cases antibiotic treatment for primary CDI is successful, CDI recurrence (rCDI) occurs in ~25%  of CDI cases, with a 38%–45% probability of subsequent recurrences in those who have a first recurrence [4–9]. The rate of hospital-onset CDI is twice as high in those with  cancer compared with individuals hospitalized for other conditions [10, 11]. Furthermore, it has been reported that individuals with cancer have a lower cure rate and increased time to resolution of diarrhea (TTROD) following first line anti-CDI antibiotics (vancomycin or fidaxomicin [12]) compared with those  without cancer [13]. [...]

 Messenger RNA vaccines for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection are widely used yet their effect on the gut microbiome is not known. Low bifidobacteria levels have been linked with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, inflammatory bowel disease, Clostridioides diffıcile infection, obesity and aging. Preliminary case reports suggest fecal microbiota transplant could cure SARS-CoV-2 infection (1). A study by Bozkurt et al. showed that SARS-CoV-2 patients taking bifidiobacteria-containing probiotics had lower COVID-related hospitalization times (2). Methods: 34 subjects had stool collection prior to vaccination and one month post vaccination to evaluate the relative abundance of bifidobacteria in the gut. DNA was extracted, library was prepped, and enrichment and sequencing were done using metagenomic next generation sequencing. Results: Relative abundance of genus bifidobacteria significantly decreased to about half of original value after vaccination (P 5 0.0065 via Wilcoxon signed rank test). Prior to vaccination, median (interquartile range) values of relative abundance for genus bifidobacteria were 1.13% (0.0016% to 2.52%) and after vaccination were 0.64% (0.0015% to 2.48%). [...]

 The American Journal of Gastroenterology 

 Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or Irritable bowel syndrome are chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract often associated with the gut microbiota dysbiosis. Recently, the scientific interest has been focused on the interplay between IBD, IBS treatments and the gut microbiome, particularly with the use of novel therapeutic agents such as Bovine lgG. [...]

 Short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production from dietary fiber by the gut microbiome is a crucial component in the prevention and reduction of inflammation. One anaerobic producer of SCFA butyrate is the genus Roseburia, which has been found to be dysbiotically reduced in individuals with IBS, metabolic syndrome and obesity. Another condition in which inflammation plays a major role is COVID-19. In our study, we sought to understand whether dysbiosis was present in individuals with COVID-19, and whether Roseburia was a part of that dysbiosis. [...]

 Introduction While COVID-19 has primarily been considered from the perspective of a respiratory illness, and rightly so, the presence of the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2 in the gastrointestinal tract has been demonstrated by many studies utilizing a variety of methodology. This presents another avenue by which to examine the virus. Interactions between the host and the gut microbiome have dramatic impacts on the immune system of the host in several ways. One genus of microbiome bacteria that has demonstrated favorable effects is Bifidobacterium, which is present in many probiotics, and is believed to be beneficial in myriad ways. In this study, we sought to examine the microbiome of healthy individuals compared with those infected with SARS-CoV-2 utilizing whole genome sequencing, to determine if there was any specific form of dysbiosis which could be tied to this infection. [...]

 Probiotic-containing foods are used by the public aiming at maintaining or replenishing the gut flora and to limit gastrointestinal and other disorders. Studies have shown that genus Bifidobacterium are beneficial for maintaining a healthy flora with low levels found in many disorders, including COVID-19. However, the presence and abundance of these microbes in probiotic-containing foods remain unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the presence and abundance of these and other microbes in commercially available probiotics and compare them to expected ingredients. [...]

 Chronic mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, have been associated with premature brain aging manifested on neuroimaging as gray matter loss. This has been associated with impaired insight (anosognosia) and suboptimal treatment outcome. Novel strategies  for addressing premature brain aging are urgently needed and somatostatin up regulation may avert gray matter loss. Recent studies,  involving non-pituitary growth hormone and p53, have offered early glimpses into the molecular underpinnings of cellular senescence in  SCZ. Moreover, age-downregulated somatostatin and activation of Human Endogenous Retroviruses likely drive the negative and cognitive  symptoms of SCZ [...]

 Lyme disease is a poorly understood condition which starts with a rash but may continue with chronic fatigue and neurological symptoms. Approximately 1 in 5 early Lyme disease patients have GI symptoms, such as nausea, anorexia, abdominal pain, or diarrhea. Lyme disease is thought to be cased by microbes in the spirochetes phylum transmitted by black legged ticks. Lyme-related healthcare costs in America exceed 1.3 billion dollars annually. Bifidobacteria are known for their beneficial probiotic actions within the human gut microbiome. Their numbers are reduced in severe COVID-19, Clostridioides difficile infection and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. To our knowledge Bifidobacteria levels have not been studied in Lyme disease patients. Given the importance of Bifidobacterium abundance in other diseases, we focused on relative abundance of Bifidobacterium in fecal samples of patients with Lyme disease compared to controls. [...]

 The gut brain axis is a system of bi-directional communication. When the delicate balance of the microbiome is disrupted, the resulting dysbiosis can be a factor in the development of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Parkinson’s Disease (PK), and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). One major player in the gut brain axis are short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), particularly butyrate, acetate, and propionate. These are produced by key players in the gut microbiome via breakdown of dietary fiber. In this study, we sought to identify a characteristic microbial “signature” of neurological disorders and identify potential therapeutic targets. [...]

 Eosinophilic gastritis (EG) and/or duodenitis (EoD) are characterized by chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and accumulation and activation of eosinophils and mast cells in the stomach and/or duodenum. Lirentelimab (AK002), an antibody against siglec-8, depletes eosinophils and inhibits mast cells. In a 16-week randomized, double-blind phase 2 study of patients with moderate–severe EG and/or EoD (ENIGMA), lirentelimab significantly reduced gastrointestinal eosinophils and patient-reported total symptom scores (TSS) compared with placebo. To evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of lirentelimab, we conducted an open-label extension (OLE) study, and present data by disease type (EG6EoD vs EoD without EG) through week 94. [...]

 Of the 10 study participants, seven tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by rt-PCR, one asymptomatic individual tested negative, and two did not undergo rt-PCR testing (Figure 1). The concordance of SARS-CoV-2 detection by NGS from stools among positive patients by rt-PCR nasopharyngeal analysis was 85.7% (6/7). Patient 8, who did not undergo nasopharyngeal analysis, was positive by NGS. Asymptomatic patients 9 and 14, were negative by NGS. All positive samples analyzed by NGS achieved 100% genome coverage of SARS-CoV-2 except for patient 10’s sample, which had 93% coverage (Figure 2). SARS-CoV-2 variants at positions 241 (C → T) and 3037 (A → C) were found across all positive patients, and variants at positions 23403 (A → G) and 25563 (G → T) were each found among six of the seven patients (Figure 3). [...]

 Crohn's Disease (CD) is a debilitating chronic inflammatory process of the gastrointestinal tract which primarily affects children, teens, and young adults, causing severe pain, diarrhea, and other intestinal issues. Crohn's affects nearly 1.4 million individuals in the United States, and is characterized by deep ulcerations, skip lesions, transmural inflammation, fistula and granulomas. Some experts suggest that changes in the gut microbiome, like bacteria and viruses, living in the gut may play a role in CD. Dysbiosis of the enteric microbiota has been demonstrated in CD patients, and it is speculated that this dysbiosis may contribute to the intestinal inflammation observed in those patients. This study sought to identify characteristics of dysbiosis in patients with CD to ascertain whether microbiome manipulation is a potential treatment avenue to pursue. [...]

 The Human Microbiome Project, launched in in 2007, and the discovery of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in  2008 are major advances that have begun to shed light on the pathogenesis of some disorders of uncertain  etiology, including autoimmune, fibrotic, and neuropsychiatric illnesses, as well as the potential interaction  of systemic infections with the gut-brain axis. The gut microbial community is immunologically ―tolerated‖ in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract but may elicit  immunogenicity and pathology upon translocation into host tissues (1) (2). Indeed, in the former case longterm, low-grade inflammation may eventually lead to disease (3), while in the latter case, numerous studies  have reported the presence of intestinal microbes and/or their molecules as part of observed pathology  within host tissues, such as the circulatory system and the brain (4) (5). [...]

Case Reports in Gastroenterology 

Our index patient is a 19-year-old man with Crohn’s disease. After developing symptoms con- sistent with COVID-19, he, his 62-year-old father, and 14-year-old sister tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in May 2020. Despite a shared household, his 50-year-old mother with a history of asthma and his healthy brother and sister-in-law (a married couple) remained negative. The index patient and his mother had undergone microbiome analysis in May 2019, following his brother and his sister-in-law in November 2020. We observed significant differences between the fecal microbiota of the SARS-CoV-2-positive [...]

ACG CASE REPORTS JOURNAL 

We present a case of an ectopic stomach visualized intraoperatively at the site of intestinal intussusception via surgeon-assisted advancement of the endoscope. Heterotopic gastric mucosa, also known as an ectopic stomach, refers to the discovery of gastric tissues in an organ or tissue distinct from, and without vascular or anatomical continuity with, the main body of the normal stomach. In our case, an 18-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with jejunal intussusception. During emergency laparotomy, a large pedunculated mass was visualized and later confirmed histopathologically to be an ectopic stomach.

Journal of Next Generation Sequencing & Applications 

Toxigenic Clostridioides Difficile Infection (CDI) is the most common cause of nosocomial disease in the United States. However, the prevalence in the general population of toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains is poorly understood. In this cross-sectional study we sought to determine the presence of Clostridioides difficile colonizing a representative sample of 119 CDI-asymptomatic volunteers (health care providers, public with chronic conditions, and healthy public).

Reports have been surfacing surrounding CNS-associated symptoms in individuals affected by coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). Tourette syndrome is a neuropsychiatric disorder with usual onset in childhood. Gut microbiota can affect central physiology and function via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The authors of this case report describe Tourette’s-like symptoms in a patient resulting from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection disrupting gut microbiota.

Journal of Clinical Trials

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly aggressive and almost universally fatal neoplasm with limited treatment options. The role of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) pathway has garnered attention due to its role in eliciting the immune checkpoint response of T cells, resulting in evasion of tumor cells from immune surveillance and chemotherapy resistance. [...]

Gastroenterology Research

The effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), a treatment for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), is dependent on successful engraftment (incorporation) of donor stool. We present a method for evaluating engraftment success based on next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based profiling of bacterial strains present in donor and recipient stool, and we suggest its potential to guide treatment decisions.

MedRXiv (Preprint)

Ivermectin is a safe, inexpensive and effective early COVID-19 treatment validated in 20+ RCTs. Having developed combination therapies for Helicobacter pylori, we tested various COVID-19 combinations and describe the most effective. In 24 consecutive COVID-19 subjects with high risk features, hypoxia and untreated moderate-severe symptoms averaging 9 days, we trialed this novel combination comprising ivermectin, doxycycline, zinc, and Vitamins D and C. It was highly effective. [...]

Journal of Clinical Trials

Several reports have raised safety concerns regarding the use of probiotics. To address these concerns, this study examined the relative abundance (proportion of the microbiome made up of a particular taxa) and normalized read counts (number of times a particular microbe was identified) of Bifidobacteria in the gut microbiome of healthy subjects participating in an ongoing study on the microbiome. Bifidobacteria is a critically important constituent of the human microbiome and plays roles in digestion, gut immunity, and cancer [...]

   International Journal of Molecular Sciences / Vol. 22 / Issue 13

Concerns are emerging that a high-fat diet rich in n-6 PUFA (n-6HFD) may alter gut microbiome and increase the risk of intestinal disorders. Research is needed to model the relationships between consumption of an n-6HFD starting at weaning and development of gut dysbiosis and colonic inflammation in adulthood. We used a C57BL/6J mouse model to compare the effects of exposure to a typical American Western diet (WD) providing 58.4%, 27.8%, and 13.7% energy (%E) from carbohydrates, fat, and protein, respectively, with those of an isocaloric and isoproteic soybean oil-rich n-6HFD providing 50%E and 35.9%E from total fat and carbohydrates, respectively on gut inflammation and microbiome profile. Methods: At weaning, male offspring were assigned to either the WD or n-6HFD through 10–16 weeks of age. The WD included fat exclusively from palm oil whereas the n-6HFD contained fat exclusively from soybean oil. We recorded changes in body weight, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, colon histopathology, and gut microbiome profile. Results: Compared to the WD, the n-6HFD increased plasma levels of n-6 fatty acids; colonic expression of COX-2; and the number of colonic inflammatory and hyperplastic lesions. At 16 weeks of age, the n-6HFD caused a marked reduction in the gut presence of Firmicutes, Clostridia, andLachnospiraceae, and induced growth of Bacteroidetes and Deferribacteraceae. At the species level, then-6HFD sustains the gut growth of proinflammatory Mucispirillum schaedleri and Lactobacillus murinus.Conclusions: An n-6HFD consumed from weaning to adulthood induces a shift in gut bacterial profile associated with colonic inflammation.

Journal of Experimental Pathology / Vol. 2 / Issue 2

In this mini-review, we summarise the significant body of evidence for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) with Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) and propose the transition of FMT from ‘last resort’ treatment to the forefront of CDI management. To address the feasibility of this proposal, we examined the rates of efficacy in FMT treated patients with CDI and also reviewed the safety of FMT across available published studies. A considered view of safety, efficacy, product standardisation, quality control and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) allows for a prudent approach in positioning FMT as the primary or initial treatment for CDI.

The American Journal of Gastroenterology / Vol. 115 / Issue - p S1196 

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disease that can affect any part of the GI tract. Recent evidence suggests that changes in the composition of gut microbiota are a common feature in CD. This is paving the way for novel therapeutics that target the microbiome. Recently, serum-derived bovine Ig/protein isolate (SBI) has emerged as a novel therapeutic for different GI pathologies. SBI is uniquely designed to increase gut Ig levels, over 50% of which is IgG. SBI works by neutralizing microbial components, maintaining gut microbiota, managing gut barrier function, and sustaining GI immune balance. We present a patient with CD who sought to avoid immune-suppression. We introduced SBI to modify the composition of the gut microbiome, restore intestinal diversity and thus achieve clinical remission.

 Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine  / Vol. 21  / Issue (4)

The SARS-CoV-2 virus spreading across the world has led to surges of COVID-19 illness, hospitalizations, and death. The complex and multifaceted pathophysiology of life-threatening COVID-19 illness including viral mediated organ damage, cytokine storm, and thrombosis warrants early interventions to address all components of the devastating illness. In countries where therapeutic nihilism is prevalent, patients endure escalating symptoms and without early treatment can succumb to delayed in-hospital care and death. Prompt early initiation of sequenced multidrug therapy (SMDT) is a widely and currently available solution to stem the tide of hospitalizations and death. A multipronged therapeutic approach includes...

 Children /  Vol. 7  / Issue 12 

The gut microbiome profile of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and co-occurring gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms was compared to that of her healthy triplet siblings to determine if she exhibited intestinal dysbiosis. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed in individual fecal samples, and relative microbial abundance and diversity was determined. Microbial diversity was lower in sibling #3, coupled with a higher Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio, a lower relative abundance of Actinobacteria, and an increased relative abundance of Proteobacteria. Our findings are suggestive of gut dysbiosis in a child with ASD and co-occurring GI symptoms, compared to her two healthy triplet siblings.

The New England Journal of Medicine

Eosinophilic gastritis and duodenitis are characterized by gastrointestinal mucosal eosinophilia, chronic symptoms, impaired quality of life, and a lack of adequate treatments. Mast-cell activity may contribute to the pathogenesis of the conditions. AK002 (lirentelimab) is an anti–Siglec-8 antibody that depletes eosinophils and inhibits mast cells and that has shown potential in animal models as a treatment for eosinophilic gastritis and duodenitis.

Journal of International Medical Research

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is a leading cause of death and a major cause of morbidity in older people. The disease is characterized by progressive memory loss, cognitive impairment, and the cerebral accumulation of amyloid-b peptide. Given the health and economic impacts of AD, treatments that target the underlying etiology of AD or modify the course of the disease are of significant interest. The gut microbiome has been increasingly implicated  [...]

Gastroenterology / Vol. 158 / Issue 6

Toxigenic Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the most common cause of nosocomial disease in the United States, however, its prevalence in the general population is poorly understood. In this study we sought to determine the presence of Clostridioides difficile colonizing a representative sample of 119 asymptomatic adult volunteers, 12 of which were physicians treating patients with CDI. Methods: Next generation sequencing (NGS) was performed on fecal samples from [...]

The American Journal of Gastroenterology / Vol. 114

Pathogenic Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is the most common cause of nosocomial infection in the United States. However, the prevalence of C. difficile colonization in the general population is poorly understood. We sought to determine the presence and nature of various C. difficile strains colonizing a representative sample of 17 asymptomatic adult volunteers, consisting of 10 healthy and 7 stable Crohn's patients.

[...]

Sabine Hazan, MD,  Series Editor

In this article, we discuss further understanding the gut microbiome along with its effect on metabolites and cardiovascular health. This understanding will give us opportunities to develop new test and therapeutic approaches to arteriosclerosis. In the future, stool transplantation with lean or low risk for cardiovascular disease microflora may be a way of treating patients who are susceptible to [...]

Sabine Hazan, MD,  Series Editor

There is a growing body of research suggesting that obesity, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance are associated with predictable phyla and gene level compositional changes in the intestinal microbiome of humans and mice. With a better understanding of these changes, we can develop new, robust therapeutic strategies. In this article, we will briefly discuss some of the definitive research related to  [...]

Sabine Hazan, MD,  Series Editor

A new, emerging paradigm suggests that the susceptibility, severity, and duration of some diseases, even some previously thought to be independent of microbial involvement, are mediated by a complex interplay of host and microbe genomes. Already, nearly 10 million different microbial genes have been isolated from the human gut. In this series, we aim to shed light on some of the most promising research to date that [...]

Sabine Hazan, MD,  Series Editor

An IBD patient’s quality of life can be significantly diminished when treated with conventional therapies. However, like the trend of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection, there is promising evidence that a similar approach will prove efficacious in treating UC and Crohn’s, especially given the increasingly predictable intestinal microbiome perturbation 

[...]

Sabine Hazan, MD,  Series Editor

Simply and elegantly defined by Lynch and Pedersen in their December 2016 article in the New England Journal of Medicine, a microbiome is the collection of all genomes of microbes in an ecosystem. In the context of human beings and our health, it is the vastly diverse genetic information observable in the microbes colonizing the distal GI tract.  Historically, the study of human microbiology has been one of a [...]

Background Clostridium difficile infection is the most common health-care-associated infection in the USA. We assessed the safety and efficacy of ridinilazole versus vancomycin for treatment of C difficile infection. Methods We did a phase 2, randomised, double-blind, active-controlled, non-inferiority study. Participants with signs and symptoms of C difficile infection and a positive diagnostic test result were recruited from 33 centres in the USA and Canada and randomly assigned (1:1) [...]