THE BIOME BUZZ
BUGS AND WORMS AND OTHER GREAT STUFF
Category: Macrobiome
More Evidence that Helminths Protect Against Metabolic Diseases, Including Diabetes
Another great macrobiome article for you this week – two in one month! Exciting times! This one just appeared in the major journal, Frontiers in Endocrinology. Researchers conducted a review of the existing literature, and meta-analysis of the data presented in the papers, looking… Continue Reading “More Evidence that Helminths Protect Against Metabolic Diseases, Including Diabetes”
Helminths and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Some Promising News
Exciting news! It’s been ages since I had any good research on the macrobiome to report to you, and this paper is a all kinds of awesome. To start, the justification for this research: “The increased prevalence of auto-inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes, arthritis,… Continue Reading “Helminths and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Some Promising News”
Helminths and Gut Bacteria: The Dynamic Anti-Inflammatory Duo
I have some fascinating new research to report to you on helminths, about which I haven’t written in quite awhile. Last week, in my post about gut bacteria and bile acids, I talked, yet again, about the incredible complexity of the gut ecosystem: today’s… Continue Reading “Helminths and Gut Bacteria: The Dynamic Anti-Inflammatory Duo”
Biome Depletion in Both Humans and the Environment…Grim News in a Grim Time
Today I’m writing about two articles that are essentially about what we are doing to ourselves as a species. This post is not an op-ed piece: this is a simple statement of facts. The first article, out of Washington State University, is about the… Continue Reading “Biome Depletion in Both Humans and the Environment…Grim News in a Grim Time”
The Macrobiome and Mycobiome in IBD: A Look at the Role of “Dirty Old Friends”
A very recent paper, published just this past May, caught my eye because of its title: “Inflammatory bowel diseases, the hygiene hypothesis and the other side of the microbiota: Parasites and fungi.”[i] How often on this blog have I talked about the incredible complexity… Continue Reading “The Macrobiome and Mycobiome in IBD: A Look at the Role of “Dirty Old Friends””
Multiple Sclerosis and Helminths: A Phase 2 Clinical Trial
I’m treating myself this week, writing about two of my favorite things: first a post on “things you can do now,” and now a clinical trial, this one on using helminths to treat multiple sclerosis.[i] This was a phase 2 study at the University… Continue Reading “Multiple Sclerosis and Helminths: A Phase 2 Clinical Trial”
Helminths in the Time of COVID: A Protective Action?
As soon as I first read about the recognition by physicians that that death from COVID-19 was often caused by a cytokine storm – a massive inflammatory response to an invader, which causes major tissue damage – my first thought was, “I wonder if… Continue Reading “Helminths in the Time of COVID: A Protective Action?”
Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes: Helminths May Hold the Answers
I found a bunch of new research on helminths and will, over the next month or so, make my way through the papers. I wanted to share first an article just published by researchers in Australia (where some of the best hookworm (Necator americanus)… Continue Reading “Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes: Helminths May Hold the Answers”
Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders: Are Helminths a Solution?
According to the CDC, about 10% of the United States’ population now has diabetes, and 90-95% of those have type 2.[i] That is tens of millions of people in this country alone, let alone world-wide. I need you to be sitting when I tell… Continue Reading “Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders: Are Helminths a Solution?”
The Promise of Helminths for Multiple Sclerosis
Today I get to write about something other than the bacterial microbiome! Woopa! I was very happy to find a new paper on the possibilities of using helminths (helminth immunotherapy (HIT), as these authors call it) to prevent and alleviate multiple sclerosis (MS).[i] … Continue Reading “The Promise of Helminths for Multiple Sclerosis”
