scholarly journals Therapeutic Microbiology: The Role of Bifidobacterium breve as Food Supplement for the Prevention/Treatment of Paediatric Diseases

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Bozzi Cionci ◽  
Loredana Baffoni ◽  
Francesca Gaggìa ◽  
Diana Di Gioia

The human intestinal microbiota, establishing a symbiotic relationship with the host, plays a significant role for human health. It is also well known that a disease status is frequently characterized by a dysbiotic condition of the gut microbiota. A probiotic treatment can represent an alternative therapy for enteric disorders and human pathologies not apparently linked to the gastrointestinal tract. Among bifidobacteria, strains of the species Bifidobacterium breve are widely used in paediatrics. B. breve is the dominant species in the gut of breast-fed infants and it has also been isolated from human milk. It has antimicrobial activity against human pathogens, it does not possess transmissible antibiotic resistance traits, it is not cytotoxic and it has immuno-stimulating abilities. This review describes the applications of B. breve strains mainly for the prevention/treatment of paediatric pathologies. The target pathologies range from widespread gut diseases, including diarrhoea and infant colics, to celiac disease, obesity, allergic and neurological disorders. Moreover, B. breve strains are used for the prevention of side infections in preterm newborns and during antibiotic treatments or chemotherapy. With this documentation, we hope to increase knowledge on this species to boost the interest in the emerging discipline known as “therapeutic microbiology”.

Author(s):  
Nicole Bozzi Cionci ◽  
Loredana Baffoni ◽  
Francesca Gaggìa ◽  
Diana Di Gioia

The human intestinal microbiota, establishing a symbiotic relationship with the host, plays a significant role for the human health. It is also well known that a disease status is frequently characterized by a dysbiotic condition of the gut. A probiotic treatment can represent an alternative therapy for enteric disorders and human pathologies not apparently linked to the gut environment. Among bifidobacteria, strains of the species Bifidobacterium breve are widely used in pediatrics. B. breve is the dominant species in the gut of breast-fed infants and it has also been isolated from human milk. It has antimicrobial activity against human pathogens, it does not possess transmissible antibiotic resistance traits, it is not cytotoxic and it has immuno-stimulating abilities. This review describes the applications of B. breve strains mainly for the prevention/treatment of pediatric pathologies. The target pathologies range from widespread gut diseases, including diarrhea and infant colics, to celiac disease, obesity, allergic and neurological disorders. Moreover, B. breve strains are used for the prevention of side infections in pre-term newborns and during antibiotic treatments or chemotherapy. With this documentation, we hope to increase knowledge on this species to boost the interest in the emerging discipline known as “therapeutic microbiology”.


This book critically assesses the expanding field of global health. It brings together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars to address the medical, social, political, and economic dimensions of the global health enterprise through vivid case studies and bold conceptual work. The book demonstrates the crucial role of ethnography as an empirical lantern in global health, arguing for a more comprehensive, people-centered approach. Topics include the limits of technological quick fixes in disease control, the moral economy of global health science, the unexpected effects of massive treatment rollouts in resource-poor contexts, and how right-to-health activism coalesces with the increased influence of the pharmaceutical industry on health care. The chapters explore the altered landscapes left behind after programs scale up, break down, or move on. We learn that disease is really never just one thing, technology delivery does not equate with care, and biology and technology interact in ways we cannot always predict. The most effective solutions may well be found in people themselves, who consistently exceed the projections of experts and the medical-scientific, political, and humanitarian frameworks in which they are cast. This book sets a new research agenda in global health and social theory and challenges us to rethink the relationships between care, rights, health, and economic futures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Elvira Junita ◽  
Yuli Handayani ◽  
Lufita Nur Alfiah

AbstrakPermasalahan kesehatan yang timbul saat ini merupakan akibat dari perilaku hidup yang tidak sehat. Gaya hidup yang kurang baik mengakibatkan tingginya angka kejadian Penyakit Tidak Menular, Di Desa Rambah Hilir kunjungan penderita hipertensi dan diabetes di Puskesmas Rambah Hilir I di tahun 2018 ini sampai bulan Juni 66 kasus Hipertensi 27 Kasus Diabetes. Gerakan Masyarakat Hidup Sehat (GERMAS) merupakan progam Pemerintah untuk mengajak masyarakat hidup sehat dengan focus pada 3 kegiatan utama yaitu melakukan aktifitas fisik, makan buah sayur dan cek kesehatan secara rutin minimal enam bulan sekali.Dalam Program Kemitraan Masyarakat ini upaya yang dilakukan adalah meningkatkan gaya hidup sehat yakni meningkatnya aktifitas fisik yang dilakukan dengan melaksanakan kegiatan rutin senam bersama setiap hari minggu dan meningkatkan konsumsi buah dan sayur dengan memanfaatkan lahan perkarangan rumah warga dengan menanam buah dan sayur dihalaman rumah untuk memenuhi kebutuhan konsumsi buah dan sayur. Upaya Peningkatan peran masyarakat dalam memeriksakan kesehatannya dengan mendirikan posko kesehatan untuk memudahkan masyarakat dalam memeriksa kesehatannya. Luaran yang telah dicapai adalah Adanya kegiatan senam rutin, meningkatnya konsumsi buah dan sayur dengan Adanya tanaman buah dan sayur disetiap rumah warga, makan buah dan sayur bersama setiap hari minggu, Adanya pemeriksaan kesehatan secara berkala.Abstract.Health problems that currently emergeare resulted from unhealthy living behaviours. A bad lifestyle causes an increase innon-communicable diseases cases. According to patient visit data until June 2018 at the community health centre (Puskesmas) Rambah Hilir I, Rambah Hilir Village, Rokan Hulu, Riau, it shows that there were 66 cases of hypertension and 27 cases of diabetes.The Healthy Life Society Movement (GERMAS) is a government program to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle focusing on 3 main activities namely physical activities, eating vegetables, together with regular health check-upsat least once every 6 months. This community partnership program attempts to enhance the healthy lifestyle by intensifying physical activitiesthrough a routine collective exercise on every Sunday and increasing fruits and vegetables consumption. The community members’ yards are used as land to grow fruits and vegetables for meeting the community’s needs. Regarding the effort to improve the role of the community members to check their health, it was carried out by establishing a health post to facilitate them in checking-up their health. Outputs that have been achieved are the routine exercise; an increase in fruits and vegetables consumptionasthere are fruit and vegetable plants in every resident's houses; eating fruits and vegetables collectively on every Sunday; as well as regular health check-ups.


Microbiome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Petruschke ◽  
Christian Schori ◽  
Sebastian Canzler ◽  
Sarah Riesbeck ◽  
Anja Poehlein ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The intestinal microbiota plays a crucial role in protecting the host from pathogenic microbes, modulating immunity and regulating metabolic processes. We studied the simplified human intestinal microbiota (SIHUMIx) consisting of eight bacterial species with a particular focus on the discovery of novel small proteins with less than 100 amino acids (= sProteins), some of which may contribute to shape the simplified human intestinal microbiota. Although sProteins carry out a wide range of important functions, they are still often missed in genome annotations, and little is known about their structure and function in individual microbes and especially in microbial communities. Results We created a multi-species integrated proteogenomics search database (iPtgxDB) to enable a comprehensive identification of novel sProteins. Six of the eight SIHUMIx species, for which no complete genomes were available, were sequenced and de novo assembled. Several proteomics approaches including two earlier optimized sProtein enrichment strategies were applied to specifically increase the chances for novel sProtein discovery. The search of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data against the multi-species iPtgxDB enabled the identification of 31 novel sProteins, of which the expression of 30 was supported by metatranscriptomics data. Using synthetic peptides, we were able to validate the expression of 25 novel sProteins. The comparison of sProtein expression in each single strain versus a multi-species community cultivation showed that six of these sProteins were only identified in the SIHUMIx community indicating a potentially important role of sProteins in the organization of microbial communities. Two of these novel sProteins have a potential antimicrobial function. Metabolic modelling revealed that a third sProtein is located in a genomic region encoding several enzymes relevant for the community metabolism within SIHUMIx. Conclusions We outline an integrated experimental and bioinformatics workflow for the discovery of novel sProteins in a simplified intestinal model system that can be generically applied to other microbial communities. The further analysis of novel sProteins uniquely expressed in the SIHUMIx multi-species community is expected to enable new insights into the role of sProteins on the functionality of bacterial communities such as those of the human intestinal tract.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1222
Author(s):  
Domitilla Mandatori ◽  
Letizia Pelusi ◽  
Valeria Schiavone ◽  
Caterina Pipino ◽  
Natalia Di Pietro ◽  
...  

Osteoporosis (OP) and vascular calcification (VC) represent relevant health problems that frequently coexist in the elderly population. Traditionally, they have been considered independent processes, and mainly age-related. However, an increasing number of studies have reported their possible direct correlation, commonly defined as “bone-vascular crosstalk”. Vitamin K2 (VitK2), a family of several natural isoforms also known as menaquinones (MK), has recently received particular attention for its role in maintaining calcium homeostasis. In particular, VitK2 deficiency seems to be responsible of the so-called “calcium paradox” phenomenon, characterized by low calcium deposition in the bone and its accumulation in the vessel wall. Since these events may have important clinical consequences, and the role of VitK2 in bone-vascular crosstalk has only partially been explained, this review focuses on its effects on the bone and vascular system by providing a more recent literature update. Overall, the findings reported here propose the VitK2 family as natural bioactive molecules that could be able to play an important role in the prevention of bone loss and vascular calcification, thus encouraging further in-depth studies to achieve its use as a dietary food supplement.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 3061
Author(s):  
Francesca Aprile ◽  
Giovanni Bruno ◽  
Rossella Palma ◽  
Maria Teresa Mascellino ◽  
Cristina Panetta ◽  
...  

Gut microbiota plays an important role in human health. It may promote carcinogenesis and is related to several diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. This study of microbial dysbiosis in the etiology of colorectal adenoma aimed to investigate the possible causative role of microbiota in the adenoma–carcinoma sequence and its possible preventive role. A systematic, PRISMA-guided review was performed. The PubMed database was searched using “adenoma microbiota” and selecting original articles between January 2010 and May 2020 independently screened. A higher prevalence of Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Bacteroidetes phyla was observed in the fecal luminal and mucosa-associated microbiota of patients with adenoma. However, other studies provided evidence of depletion of Clostridium, Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides and Romboutsia. Results on the relationship between adenoma endoscopic resection and microbiota were inconsistent. In conclusion, none of the analyzed studies developed a predictive model that could differentiate adenoma from non-adenoma patients, and therefore, to prevent cancer progression. The impact of adenoma’s endoscopic resection on microbiota was investigated, but the results were inconclusive. Further research in the field is required.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 370
Author(s):  
Umair Iqbal ◽  
Ravirajsinh N. Jadeja ◽  
Harshit S. Khara ◽  
Sandeep Khurana

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a common neurological consequence in patients with cirrhosis and has a healthcare burden of USD 5370 to 50,120 per patient annually. HE significantly hampers the quality of life and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Patients with cirrhosis are at a high risk for protein-calorie malnutrition due to altered metabolism. Current evidence has changed the old belief of protein restriction in patients with cirrhosis and now 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg/day protein intake is recommended. Case series and studies with small numbers of participants showed that a vegetarian protein diet decreases the symptoms of HE when compared to a meat-based diet, but the evidence is limited and requires further larger randomized controlled trials. However, vegetable or milk-based protein diets are good substitutes for patients averse to meat intake. Branch chain amino acids (BCAA) (leucine, isoleucine and valine) have also been shown to be effective in alleviating symptoms of HE and are recommended as an alternative therapy in patients with cirrhosis for the treatment of HE. In this review, we provide an overview of current literature evaluating the role of protein intake in the management of HE in cirrhosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1061.3-1061
Author(s):  
Y. Qin ◽  
Z. Chen

Background:Age/Autoimmune-associated B cells (ABCs) are an emerging B cell subset that accumulate in aged and autoimmune-prone mice. Expansion of human ABCs has been observed in patients with autoimmune diseases like SLE and correlated with disease activity. However, it is less known whether ABCs contribute to the pathogenesis of RA.Objectives:The aim of this work was to explore the role of ABCs in RA.Methods:83 RA patients who met the 2010 ACR classification criteria for RA, 42 sex and age matched healthy control (HC), 35 Spondyloarthritis (SpA) and 31 Osteoarthritis (OA) patients were enrolled and blood samples were collected. The proportion of circulating ABCs was detected by flow cytometry and association with clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed. Expression of characteristic proteins and inflammatory cytokines on ABCs were examined by quantitative real-time PCR.Results:The proportion of ABCs, defined as CD19+CD27-IgD-CD21-CD11c+, was significantly elevated in RA patients, compared with HC, SpA and OA patients. The frequency of ABCs was higher in patients with high disease activity (DAS28>3.2) compared with remission and low disease activity (DAS28<3.2). There was a positive correlation of ABCs with SJC, TJC, DAS28 whereas no association with RF and anti-CCP titer were observed. In addition, increased mRNA expression levels of T-bet, IL-21, MAF and IL-17 were noted on ABCs compared with CD19+CD27-CD11c- B cells.Conclusion:ABCs were expanded in RA patients and associated with active disease status. It might contribute to RA development by production of IL-17.References:[1]Cancro, M.P., Age-Associated B Cells. Annu Rev Immunol, 2020. 38(315-340).[2]F. Zhang, K. Wei, K. Slowikowski et al., Defining inflammatory cell states in rheumatoid arthritis joint synovial tissues by integrating single-cell transcriptomics and mass cytometry. Nat Immunol 2019, 20, 928-942.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


BJPsych Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 346-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cecilia Menegatti-Chequini ◽  
Juliane P.B. Gonçalves ◽  
Frederico C. Leão ◽  
Mario F. P. Peres ◽  
Homero Vallada

BackgroundAlthough there is evidence of a relationship between religion/ spirituality and mental health, it remains unclear how Brazilian psychiatrists deal with the religion/spirituality of their patients.AimsTo explore whether Brazilian psychiatrists enquire about religion/spirituality in their practice and whether their own beliefs influence their work.MethodFour hundred and eighty-four Brazilian psychiatrists completed a cross-sectional survey on religion/spirituality and clinical practice.ResultsMost psychiatrists had a religious affiliation (67.4%) but more than half of the 484 participants (55.5%) did not usually enquire about patients' religion/spirituality. The most common reasons for not assessing patients' religion/spirituality were ‘being afraid of exceeding the role of a doctor’ (30.2%) and ‘lack of training’ (22.3%).ConclusionsVery religious/spiritual psychiatrists were the most likely to ask about their patients' religion/spirituality. Training in how to deal with a patient's religiosity might help psychiatrists to develop better patient rapport and may contribute to the patient's quicker recovery.


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