Francisco Guarner

..Sanitation, antibiotics and vaccines have done more to extend life expectancy than any other medical innovation. Concern exists, however, about the link between hygiene and increased incidence of immune-mediated disorders...

..In the next few years, the results of international projects designed to determine the precise impact of the microbiota in various physiological and pathological processes will hopefully lead to major advances...

..The therapeutic manipulation of gut microecology has attracted high expectation as a strategic area for the control and prevention of IBD...

..On the other hand, there is evidence implicating intestinal microbiota in certain pathological processes including multi-organ failure, colon cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease...

..Encouraging results have been obtained in preliminary clinical trials...

..Finally, inulin and oligofructose have proven useful to prevent mucosal inflammatory disorders in animal models and in patients with inflammatory bowel disease...

..The study of isolated commensal bacteria's effects on the mucosal immune response might be relevant for a better understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms in IBD...

..coli strain had no significant effect. In conclusion, L. casei reduces the number of activated T lymphocytes in the lamina propria of Crohn's disease mucosa. A balanced, local microecology may restore immune homeostasis...

..The aim of this study was to determine the stability of fecal DNA in inactive ulcerative colitis and its potential value as an indicator of relapse...

..Whether such changes are a cause or a consequence of the disease remains to be elucidated...

..We investigated dynamics of fecal microbiota in ulcerative colitis (UC) during remission by genomic technology...

..casei administration did not modify VCAM-1 upregulation in colitic animals. L. casei attenuates leukocyte recruitment observed in experimental colitis induced by TNBS. This effect is possibly related to abrogation of ICAM-1 upregulation...

..The use of probiotics, prebiotics, helminths or microbe-derived immunoregulatory vaccines might, therefore, become a valuable approach to disease prevention...

..Our results suggest that constitutive isoforms of NOS prevent mast cell activation...

..This review discusses the possible role of a microbial imbalance in the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease...

..Prebiotics may increase colonization by lactobacilli and can prevent mucosal inflammation. Modulation of the gut flora with probiotics may prove useful in the prevention and control of inflammatory bowel diseases...

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..Inulin and oligofructose may offer an opportunity to prevent chronic inflammatory intestinal disorders, and this potential should be tested in further clinical studies...

..The aim of our study was to determine whether excretion of human DNA is useful in the evaluation of disease activity in ulcerative colitis...

..On the other hand, there is evidence implicating the gut flora in certain pathological conditions, including multisystem organ failure, colon cancer and inflammatory bowel diseases...

..We aimed to establish whether PEG 4000 affects colonic barrier function and the development of colitis induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) in rats...

..Here, we evaluated how different storage conditions of fecal samples affect the quality of extracted nucleic acids and the stability of their microbial communities...

..This can be assessed by using a cut-off scoring threshold of the IBDQ-36 questionnaire. It has not been established if antiTNFα treatment is able to restore to normal patients' HRQOL...

..coli increased IL-10 release in the presence of neutralizing anti-TNFalpha. CONCLUSIONS: Nonpathogenic bacteria interact with human intestinal mucosa and can induce changes in cytokine production that are strain specific...

..Nevertheless, bacteria are also useful in promotion of human health. Probiotics and prebiotics are known to have a role in prevention or treatment of some diseases...

..However, certain probiotic strains are able to downregulate inflammatory pathways. Restoring the microbial balance with prebiotics and probiotics offers promise for the control of IBD...

..To determine whether a probiotic drink containing Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 reduces the incidence of radiation-induced diarrhea in patients with gynecologic cancer...

..Leading scientists working on the microbiome gathered in an October 2012 meeting in Baeza, Spain, to discuss recent advances in the understanding of the role of the microbiota in immunity, pathogen colonization, metabolism and disease...

..bulgaricus) improves lactose digestion and eliminates symptoms of lactose intolerance. Thus, these cultures clearly fulfil the current concept of probiotics...

..As there is no current clinical or experimental information on the role of the gut microbiota in this pathogenesis, we conducted a pilot observational study on the fecal microbiota in patients receiving pelvic radiotherapy...

..g. change in antibody in blood or response to antigens. determining the incidence and severity of infection in target populations during naturally occurring episodes or in response to attenuated pathogens...

..In cooperation with these endogenous barriers, some in-transit bacteria, such as probiotics, can act as partners of the defense system of the intestine...

..We conclude that increased activity of matrix metalloproteinases may contribute to epithelial damage in this model of colitis...

..Brief conclusions from these discussion groups are summarized in this paper...

..We hypothesized that Bacteroides fragilis-produced metalloproteinases (MMPs) are responsible for bacterial migration through the intestinal wall and transmural inflammation...