The Microbiota as a Potential Cause of Disease "the potential of microbiome-targeted interventions, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and dietary modulation—in particular the Mediterranean diet is recognized as the most balanced—is discussed as a promising strategy to restore microbial balance and mitigate inflammaging." @Diseases_MDPI

The data on probiotics is not convincing: - Studies after antibiotic treatment point to slower recovery of the mucosal microbiota with a probiotic - Meta-analyses still show benefit in some cases: preventing diarrheal disease and recovery from viral diarrhea - The product range is enormous and every person's microbiome is its own case, so results don't transfer - Find a well-designed study where a specific probiotic did the thing you want, then stick with that product Dr. Justin Sonnenburg on @hubermanlab

Long-COVID symptoms may be linked to bacterial mix in the mouth, lungs The oral microbiota is significantly less diverse in people with severe persistent symptoms than in those with mild symptoms. Read more: 📷: NIH / NHGRI / Flickr cc

The NOSTER & Science Magazine Microbiome Prize rewards innovative research by early-career investigators on the functional roles of the microbiota in human or veterinary health and disease. Apply by 14 February 2027:

Fermented food beat fiber in our own study: - We expected high fiber to give the massive signal. Across the cohort we never saw it. Fiber responses were highly individualized - Six weeks of high fermented food intake raised gut microbiota diversity, and in the industrialized world higher diversity generally tracks with better health - A couple dozen inflammatory markers dropped in stepwise fashion, including interleukin-6 and interleukin-12, with immune cell signaling cascades less activated by the end Dr. Justin Sonnenburg on @hubermanlab

Oxidative stress, aging, metabolism, SIRT1, and the gut microbiota: the neurocardiac basis of cognitive loss Figure 1 The neurocardiac basis for cardiovascular disease and cognitive loss.

They Changed a Playground. 28 Days Later, Something Inside the Children Had Changed. A group of Finnish researchers made a surprisingly simple change to daycare playgrounds: they brought in more nature. Gravel areas were replaced with patches of grass and forest-floor vegetation. Planting boxes were added, along with real soil and plants. Then researchers followed 75 children between the ages of three and five to see whether spending time in these greener spaces would make any difference. The children usually spent around 1.5 hours outside each day. After just 28 days, the researchers found a noticeable change. The children playing in the greener yards had a wider variety of microbes living on their skin. Their gut microbiota also began to look more like the gut microbes found in children who regularly spent time in forests. Then came the part that caught researchers’ attention. Changes were also seen in markers linked to immune regulation. Children with greater microbial diversity showed increases in regulatory T cells and TGF-β1, together with changes in inflammatory signaling such as IL-17A. Why would a playground affect the immune system? One possible explanation is that natural environments expose children to a much wider range of harmless microbes from soil, plants and other parts of the environment. Early in life, the immune system is still learning what deserves a strong response and what does not. A modern urban playground may offer very little of that microbial variety. A patch of soil and vegetation can offer much more. Follow-up research even found that some changes in the playground soil and children’s microbiota remained detectable after the original intervention. This does not prove that children who play in nature will avoid allergies or autoimmune diseases. The researchers did not establish that. But the experiment revealed something easy to overlook: changing what surrounds a child can change the microscopic world that surrounds — and lives on — that child. The difference was not a new medicine or an expensive treatment. It was grass, plants, soil and a little more contact with nature. And it happened in only four weeks. Source: Science Advances; University of Helsinki

Fecal Transplant for ICI Colitis Control? Immune checkpoint inhibitors are nothing short of amazing. We are curing patients who previously had a prognosis measured in months. Looking at you, MSI-H mCRC. 🥹 But they have downsides. While much of oncology is focused on getting MORE patients to benefit from ICI, there is another important question: Can we make them less toxic? Enter this study just published in Cell Reports Medicine. 13 patients with ICI-induced diarrhea/colitis received fecal microbiota transplant as FIRST-LINE treatment. 💩🥤 <- Poop Milkshake The results? 💩 10/13 had a clinical response ⚡ Median time to improvement: 1.5 DAYS ✅ 8/10 responders remained in remission during follow-up And this was without starting with the usual steroids/biologics. Only the patients who failed FMT went on to standard immunosuppression. Yes, the study is tiny. Yes, we need randomized data. But the microbiome looks like it has major implications for immunotherapy, both for efficacy AND toxicity. Looking forward to larger studies. And absolutely keeping this one in my back pocket for refractory ICI colitis. 💩 @TheGutOncLab @OncoAlert @Onco_Nexus

Dallas microbiome company brings physician-developed gut and respiratory health products to one of Texas’ biggest retailers. #longevity# #microbiome# #guthealth# #respiratoryhealth# #health# @resbiotic