Global Health Asia-Pacific Issue 5 | 2022 Issue 5 | 2022 | Page 55

Though probiotic supplements promise to improve health , more research is needed to support their benefits
improvements in his quality of life as he was able to tolerate more types of food . “ I don ’ t know whether his clinical improvement is related to the repair of his microbiome , all I can tell is that we fixed his microbiome and we think that will lead to continuous symptomatic improvement ,” he acknowledged .
In his view , diets that fuel the production of specific metabolites and engineered probiotics that can easily engraft , or take root , in the microbiome of many different people represent the future of microbiome therapies , though it ’ s still early days and will take some time to see whether breakthrough improvements or treatments become available .
In addition to having effective therapies , the timing of the treatment might also be a key factor , according to Dr Chang . He observed that mice who didn ’ t have a microbiome could rehabilitate their immune systems and decrease their colitis risk only if they had received good microbes as pups , while the same benefits didn ’ t materialise when the animals were treated later in life .
“ There ’ s a window in early life when your immune system is learning , and once that closes it can ’ t learn ” any longer , he stressed , adding that this mindset could revolutionise the preventative approach to conditions like inflammatory bowel disease , which would entail looking at the microbiome of babies to see whether they lack essential microbes that need to be restored to lower the risk of or prevent the disease decades later .
“ I do believe that it is important to identify if there ’ s an imbalance or missing microbes early in life because , if we are going to lower disease risk , we have to correct the microbiome early in life ,” he said . If microbiome research delivers on its promises , its health impact could be huge . A recent study published in Nature Metabolism shows that people whose microbiome changes over time are more likely to live longer and be healthier compared to those with fewer variations . The researchers speculate that bacteria called Bacteroides might partially explain the difference in health and longevity as they tend to consume the protective mucus layer that lines the gut if fibres aren ’ t available .
“ Maybe that ’ s good when you ’ re 20 or 30 and producing a lot of mucus in your gut ,” Dr Sean Gibbons , one of the study authors and assistant professor at the Institute for Systems Biology in the US , told the New York Times . “ But as we get older , our mucus layer thins , and maybe we may need to suppress these bugs .”
Dr Vasu Appanna , professor of biochemistry at Laurentian University in Canada , believes that the identification of each single human microbe along with their specific roles could contribute to classifying individuals based on their microbial profile , a move that would be as revolutionary as the discovery of blood groups .
“ Microbial fingerprinting would result in a seismic shift in health quality and delivery ,” she wrote in The Conversation . “ Manipulation and enrichment of select microbial communities — referred to as microbiome engineering — would improve health , rejuvenate organs , enhance character traits and lead to more effective medications .” n
“ But as we get older , our mucus layer thins , and maybe we may need to suppress these bugs .”
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com ISSUE 5 | 2022
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