Introduction
The human microbiota is a combination of many different microorganisms, many of which are bacteria. The microorganisms in the human microbiota are referred to as commensal flora. There are an estimated 100 trillion good bacteria in the human body.[7] Most of which are found in the gastro-intestinal tract although they also reside in the skin, the saliva and the mucosa. These bacteria are diverse; there are estimated to be >1000 species in the human gut alone.[7] Bacteria that are part of the human microbiota can be either harmless or beneficial to the body when the immune system is functioning properly. They can be beneficial by competing with harmful bacteria for nutrients and keeping them from attacking the host. . The commensal …show more content…
This arises from the alteration of metabolic pathways leading to overgrowth of flora which, in turn, makes them hard to control and thus potentially pathenogenic. This phenomenon can lead to the targeting of the microbiota by immune cells, referred to as dysbiosis. [7] Dysbiosis is related the over inflammation of the gut, in other words, inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease which involves chronic inflammation of the digestive tract caused by an attack by the immune system on microbial agents in the gastrointestinal tract. Crohn’s disease can also occur when antibiotics are taken. Antibiotics affect the microbiota composition thus allowing microbes to become pathenogenic therefore causing dysbiosis leading to Crohn`s disease. Ulcerative colitis is another disease that is linked to dysbiosis. Ulcerative colitis is a disease in which inflammation of the colon occurs as a result of shifts in microbiota composition because of dietary reasons. [3]As well as diet induced colitis there is also antibiotic induced colitis such as pseudomembranous colitis which is a result of Clostridium difficile colonization. This occurs when normal flora have been compromised by the presence of an antibiotic. Shifts in microbiota composition allow C. difficile to colonize the intestinal epithelial …show more content…
Therefor it is important to be able to prevent or treat such diseases. There are many methods to prevent/resolve shifts in microbiota composition two of which we shall discuss. The first one is fecal transplants. Fecal transplants have been used to shift microbiota composition back to equilibrium for the past 50+ years. It involves transplanting fecal matter from a healthy individual to a recipient in order to bring microbiota composition back to normal. It has been applied to Clostridium difficile infections epidemics in the USA and Europe, showing great efficiency in getting rid of the disease. [13] Fecal transplantation is considered the most effective way to restore balance to the microbiota. The second treatment is Pre/Probiotics. Probiotics are intestinal microbes that are ingested orally in order to restore microbiota balance. Probiotics have not yet been developed for use in combating many IBD’s because the mechanisms for treatment are still being explored.
The human microbiota is a combination of many different microorganisms, many of which are bacteria. The microorganisms in the human microbiota are referred to as commensal flora. There are an estimated 100 trillion good bacteria in the human body.[7] Most of which are found in the gastro-intestinal tract although they also reside in the skin, the saliva and the mucosa. These bacteria are diverse; there are estimated to be >1000 species in the human gut alone.[7] Bacteria that are part of the human microbiota can be either harmless or beneficial to the body when the immune system is functioning properly. They can be beneficial by competing with harmful bacteria for nutrients and keeping them from attacking the host. . The commensal …show more content…
This arises from the alteration of metabolic pathways leading to overgrowth of flora which, in turn, makes them hard to control and thus potentially pathenogenic. This phenomenon can lead to the targeting of the microbiota by immune cells, referred to as dysbiosis. [7] Dysbiosis is related the over inflammation of the gut, in other words, inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease which involves chronic inflammation of the digestive tract caused by an attack by the immune system on microbial agents in the gastrointestinal tract. Crohn’s disease can also occur when antibiotics are taken. Antibiotics affect the microbiota composition thus allowing microbes to become pathenogenic therefore causing dysbiosis leading to Crohn`s disease. Ulcerative colitis is another disease that is linked to dysbiosis. Ulcerative colitis is a disease in which inflammation of the colon occurs as a result of shifts in microbiota composition because of dietary reasons. [3]As well as diet induced colitis there is also antibiotic induced colitis such as pseudomembranous colitis which is a result of Clostridium difficile colonization. This occurs when normal flora have been compromised by the presence of an antibiotic. Shifts in microbiota composition allow C. difficile to colonize the intestinal epithelial …show more content…
Therefor it is important to be able to prevent or treat such diseases. There are many methods to prevent/resolve shifts in microbiota composition two of which we shall discuss. The first one is fecal transplants. Fecal transplants have been used to shift microbiota composition back to equilibrium for the past 50+ years. It involves transplanting fecal matter from a healthy individual to a recipient in order to bring microbiota composition back to normal. It has been applied to Clostridium difficile infections epidemics in the USA and Europe, showing great efficiency in getting rid of the disease. [13] Fecal transplantation is considered the most effective way to restore balance to the microbiota. The second treatment is Pre/Probiotics. Probiotics are intestinal microbes that are ingested orally in order to restore microbiota balance. Probiotics have not yet been developed for use in combating many IBD’s because the mechanisms for treatment are still being explored.