“Genetic Blueprint” for Gut Bacteria Developed
Researchers recently developed and released a genetic blueprint of the bacteria within the human gut. Home to billions of microbes, our guts are a major component of our immunity and the birthplace of various diseases and digestive disorders. With a map to our guts, this research will help with future studies aiming to find cures for ailments such as ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
According to a recent Yahoo! News article,
More than 100 researchers working over two years found some 3.3 million distinct genes spread across at least 1,000 species of single-celled organisms, virtually all bacteria.
“The vast majority of bacteria found were not known before. But now we can start sorting out what they do in terms of function, and how they might relate to disease…”
Prior to the study, it was believed that the microbes within the gut were relatively common, shared across most individuals. Surprisingly, only 40 percent of the genes mapped were shared with at least half the volunteers.
Using new DNA sequencing techniques, scientists gathered a mass of data equivalent to 200 complete human genomes, Raes said.
The number of bacteria discovered is double many previous estimates.
So what does this mean? As mainstream medicine begins to research and document bacteria within the human gut, the potential for finding cures for various ailments has increased dramatically.
All of this news is very exciting for the field of probiotics. Since probiotics are comprised of naturally-occuring bacteria, the absense of bacteria which normally aids in certain digestive functions could be the direct cause of varying disorders such as IBS. As scientists begin to map out the functions, there is a greater understanding of the roles performed by individual bacteria strains.
To read the Yahoo! news article in its entirety, visit:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100303/hl_afp/healthdiseaseintestinesgenomebacteria_20100303200745
Is anyone still working on the chronic C.Diff superbug forum? I live in the USA, and I have been fighting chronic c.diff since 2005. It has taken control of my life. I can now no longer take any antibiotics, because what forward strides I have made over the years would take me back to where I was at in the beginning of this horrific disease. I discovered in December of 2008 that I am acutely allergic to Ryfampin. A drug that is usually used for TB. I was given it along with Vancomycin (The only one that seems to help on a daily regiment, but is $6,000.00 US monthly.) This was given to me by infectious disease doctors, to see if that would rid my system of C.Diff. It gave me drug induced hepatitis, and my liver, kidneys, and other main organs started shutting down. I was hospitalized for a month at that time. During 2005-2008, I was constantly being hospitalized from the effects of C.Diff, and gastrointestinal surgeons performing procedures on me. Basically using me as a lab rat. During one procedure in 2005, I flat lined and it was approximately 8 hours before they knew if I would live or die. The only reason I know this is because after a couple of days I woke up back in my original hospital room, after being in ICU, and the nurses, my internist (for 30 years), and an intern on the floor I was on, started asking me questions about what I remembered during that time, which was nothing. All I knew is I was extremely out of sorts, physically and mentally. It’s a very long involved story. At this time I am on nothing except pain and anxiety drugs to help me deal with the pain and frustration I am and have suffered over the past five years plus. I have no insurance, and that leaves me battling this by myself. The hospital, in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, conveniently lost any records of the procedure they were trying to perform when I flat-lined, and the gastrointestinal surgeon that “performed” the procedure that day “didn’t do any dictation that day”. I have been told the next step would be to remove my large intestines to rid myself of the C.Diff. I use to be a very active, positive person. My life has been turned upside down. I can no longer take antibiotics so I have to be careful of injuries, illness, etc., which keeps me from a normal life.