THE BIOME BUZZ
BUGS AND WORMS AND OTHER GREAT STUFF
Tag: inflammation
Ameliorating the Adverse Effects of Excess Propionic Acid
I am officially declaring this Biome Buzz’ first annual Propionic Acid Week! (Unfortunately, this is not a cause for celebration.) If you remember, propionic acid (PPA) is a short-chain fatty acid produced by gut bacteria. Ordinarily, PPA , like the other SCFAs, is great…
Is There Any Doubt Left that Propionic Acid is a Cause of Autism? Apparently not
I first started to write about autism and propionic acid (PPA) not long after creating this blog, back in the fall of 2016. In January 2017, I described to you some of the work of Dr. Derrick MacFabe, which as particularly fascinated me for…
Helminths and Susceptibility to HIV?????????? A Medical Mystery Waiting to be Solved
A couple of times over the last year, I have described early stage research into the potential of helminths to prevent cancer? File this post under the same heading: the very beginning of a new area of research. Sometimes it just hits me how…
The Two Sides of Bacteroides fragilis
Back in May, 2018, I wrote about Bacteriodes fragilis (B. fragilis), a species of bacteria some strains of which are toxic, some of which are highly beneficial. The main thrust of that post was about how our immune system, when functioning properly, can recognize…
The Bacterial Microbiome and Immune Response to Vaccines
I love it when one of my readers contacts me to talk about a post, to show me something new or just wants to introduce him or herself and say hi. As I’ve pointed out recently on the Biome Buzz Facebook page, we are…
5 Years to a Designer Bacterial Microbiome? My Money’s on Yes
My psychic powers are in overdrive after reading an article on Medical Express yesterday morning about research being presented at the upcoming American Chemical Society’s fall meeting.[i] I truly believe this is the first step toward custom modeling of the human microbiome. Obviously, diet…
Neurodegnerative and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Prime Targets for Helminths
Within just a few weeks of each other, two papers have been published looking at the potential of using helminths to treat neurological conditions. Not surprisingly, both focus on the powerful anti-inflammatory effect of helminths. (For those of you new to helminths: these are…
Breast Cancer and Metastases: Is Dysbiosis a Factor?
Yesterday, I read an article[i] in the University of Virginia’s online newspaper about the work of a team of their scientists and graduate students that I thought worth sharing with you. The paper[ii] was just published in the journal, Cancer Research, and while it…
Biofilms and the Mycobiome/IBD Connection: A Refresher and a Probiotic Treatment Finally?!
I’ve decided to start this week with some good news. A few days ago, the headline of a little op-ed sort of piece on a science-devoted website caught my eye: “It’s Time to Highlight Our Fungus Friends in Our Microbiomes.”[i] The author gives a…
Allergy and Asthma Risk in Children: A Gut Bacteria Metabolite Culprit Identified
Two weeks ago, I wrote about a retrospective study out of Loyola University in which researchers looked at the relationship of the early introduction of antibiotics to the development of allergy and asthma. If you recall, they found, “Exposure to these medicines in their…
