5.6 Gut Microbiota in Health and Disease Flashcards
Gut microbiome vs gut microbiota
Microbiota: the organisms within the microbial community
Microbiome: genes that encode the gut microbiota
Outline 3 key roles of the gut microbiota in maintaining health
- Protection from infecion
- Food and drug metabolism
- Providing neurotransmitters (Sasha - tryptophan yoghurt)
Gut microbiota imbalance is thought to cause diseases/harmful processes such as…
- Heart disease
- IBD (Dr Ray)
- CKD
- Diabetes
- Cancer
Describe the therapeutic utility for fecal microbiota transfer in treating clostridium difficile
- Randomised control trials show 90% rate of curing
- Very few attributable side effects (no long term data)
Describe bacterial density throughout the gut. Does it change? Why?
Increasing density as you travel in an anal direction. Decreased acidity.
Viruses that use bacteria as hosts are called…
Bacteriophages
List three types of gut microbiota
- Bacteria
- Bacteriophages
- Fungi
Early microbiota acquisition is influenced by…
- Type of birth
- Breast feeding
- Diet
- Antibiotics (not good)
The Western Blanket is creating widespread extinction of gut microbiota. Some aspects of this Blanket include…
- Diet
- Exercise
- Hygiene
- Stress
- Drugs
What kind of organism drives gut dysbiosis? What happens?
- Pathobiont organisms cause change in epithelial permeability
- Microbiota leak out
- Chronic inflammatory response to bacteria
Why should we be careful linking the microbiota in someones gut to their diseases as a part of pathophysiology?
Because it’s a chicken and egg problem; we don’t know whether the bugs cause the disease, or the disease causes the bugs.
Risk factors for C Diff infection.
- Advanced age
- Hospitalisation
- Antibiotics
- PPI use
- Chemotherapy
(Sickest patients)
Contraindications for fecal transplant
- Gastrointestinal perforation
- Anaphylactic food allergy (don’t want peanut poo…)
