Are microorganisms in your belly affecting your health ? Emerging science is revealing a remarkable link between an imbalanced gut microbiota and the development of various metabolic disorders.
Obesity, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, metabolic syndrome…this page serves as your gateway to understanding the link between microbiota and these diseases.
Suffering from digestive discomfort? Research suggests the existence of a link between microbiota and digestive health. Conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (FGD) or even food allergies might be influenced by microbiota imbalances. Thus, it is crucial to stay informed about it supporting you to potentially fight these issues on daily basis.
Learn how to detect, prevent and treat the gut microbiome dysbiosis in this free CME course led by renowned gastroenterologist, Prof. Francisco Guarner.
Alterations in the gut microbiome may be implicated in the pathogenesis of several non-communicable diseases and in the transition of these conditions to chronicity. Many studies have shown links between faecal microbiota composition and disease, including metabolic, inflammatory and neoplastic disorders. However, the exact (if any) causative role that microbiota changes may have in those diseases remains unclear. Thus, there has been little translation of microbiome science into clinical practice so far, especially in the domains of diagnosis and prognosis, due to the lack of supportive evidence for test and treat strategies. Nevertheless, it is becoming clear that developing and maintaining gut microbiota diversity is a novel clinical target for health promotion and disease prevention, and that diet and probiotics are the natural and most efficient way to improve diversity. Unrestricted grant by Biocodex.
Exclusive!
You can book a private mentoring session with Professor Guarner on the app!
Who is professor Guarner ?
Francisco Guarner Aguilar, MD, PhD, is a gastroenterologist and senior researcher at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute.
He is the author of more than 300 publications in international research journals, many of which are landmark contributions to the field of microbiota and health.
In 2020, he was recognized as one of the most influential researchers in the decade of 2010-2020, receiving the Web of Science’s Highly Cited Researchers (Cross Field) distinction.
He is a member of the Guidelines Committee of the World Gastroenterology Organisation, the Steering Committee of the International Human Microbiome Consortium, and past member of the Board of Directors on the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics.
Conflicts of Interest Statement: Francisco Guarner receives research grants from Abbvie, Takeda and AB-Biotics, and honoraria or consultation fees from Instituto Danone, Sanofi, Biocodex, Actial, Menarini and Ordesa.
Xpeer Medical Education is the first accredited medical education app in the market, with video microlearning engaging videos of just 5 minutes.
With a powerful algorithm to personalize the user experience and the contents as the most popular entertaining streaming platforms, it offers a brand new experience for the continuing education and professional development of the healthcare professionals.
Accredited by the European Union of Medical Specialists, it delivers high quality scientific medical education pieces. On Xpeer, you will find this curriculum on Microbiota and 500 hours of medical education in 2021 in your specialty, technologies and professional and personal skills.
Information on accreditation
The app Xpeer is accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) to provide official ECMEC credits recognized officially in 26 countries.
The credits for the users of the module will be 1 European CME credit (ECMEC®) for every hour (60 minutes of actual e-learning excluding introductions etc.) of use, provided that the users have completed a module and have passed the relevant assessment.
Hailed as one of the greatest medical advances of the 20th century, antibiotics have saved millions of lives. But they also have an impact on our microbiota by inducing a dysbiosis. Let’s take a look at this ambivalence role:
Each year, since 2015, the WHO organizes the World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW), which aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance.
Held on 18-24 November, this campaign encourages the general public, healthcare professionals and decision-makers to use antimicrobials carefully, to prevent the further emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
Join Dr. Eamonn Quigley, in this free continuing medical education course, as he reviews the latest and most intriguing data on "the interaction between the microbiota and gastrointestinal symptoms".
Does the microbiota affect GI symptoms? The answer is yes, as largely demonstrated in the literature. But then, can we use the microbiota to treat GI symptoms? Join Dr. Eamonn Quigley in this review of the most recent and interesting data on the interaction between the microbiota and GI symptoms. We will review the effects of the microbiome on upper, and lower GI symptoms (focusing on IBS), bowel habit, bloating, flatulence, and distension, and we will get some practical tips to provide the best care to our patients with GI symptoms. Are you going to miss it?
Who is Eamonn Quigley?
Eamonn Quigley, MD, FRCP, FACP, MACG, FRCPI, MWGO, gastroenterologist, David M. Underwood Chair of Medicine in Digestive Disorders, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and a Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College at Houston Methodist Hospital.
He was President of the World Gastroenterology Organisation from 2005 to 2009 and President of the American College of Gastroenterology from 2008 to 2009. He was Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Gastroenterology from 1997 to 2003. He has published more than 800 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, editorials, book chapters and case reports, mostly in the areas of gut motility, functional gastrointestinal disorders, and GERD.
Conflicts of Interest Statement: The author reports receiving grants/research supports from 4D Pharma, Biomerica, and Vibrant, receiving honoraria or consultation fees from Novozymes, Biocodex, Preciosionbiotics, and Salix, and participating in a speaker's bureau sponsored by Biocodex.
Xpeer Medical Education is the first accredited medical education app in the market, with video microlearning engaging videos of just 5 minutes.
With a powerful algorithm to personalize the user experience and the contents as the most popular entertaining streaming platforms, it offers a brand new experience for the continuing education and professional development of the healthcare professionals.
Accredited by the European Union of Medical Specialists, it delivers high quality scientific medical education pieces. On Xpeer, you will find this curriculum on Microbiota and 500 hours of medical education in 2021 in your specialty, technologies and professional and personal skills.
Information on accreditation
The app Xpeer is accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) to provide official ECMEC credits recognized officially in 26 countries.
The credits for the users of the module will be 1 European CME credit (ECMEC®) for every hour (60 minutes of actual e-learning excluding introductions etc.) of use, provided that the users have completed a module and have passed the relevant assessment.
Join renowned expert Prof. Karine Clément, professor of nutrition, as she guides you through the "relationship between the gut microbiota and metabolic diseases". Get trained for free here !
In the last years, more and more discoveries have shed light into the complex interaction between the gut microbiota and its human host. Its influence, although still not fully understood, ranges from helping defend against pathogens, and help digest otherwise indigestible foods, to maintain the gut barrier integrity, but also modulate human health and metabolism. This last one is particularly important because more recent studies have suggested that the gut microbiota may be implicated in metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
Obesity is a complex disease and can have major consequences on health. Obesity was recently recognized as a chronic disease by The European Commission in March 2021. Then, in this course you will explore some studies which give some clue of the role of gut microbiota in human biology. Moreover, this course will give you an in-depth review of the importance of gut microbiota diversity and composition, and its relationship with different metabolic disorders, but also its variations between cultures, ethnicities and lifestyles. In this course you will understand to the molecular level how the gut microbiota affects the host biology, through its involvement in the intestinal structure and integrity, food digestion, and production of many metabolites. Finally, you will acquire the skills to better integrate the gut microbiota aspects into your clinical practice, and the knowledge of how it can be beneficial for your patients.
Pr Karine Clément, MD, PhD, is full professor of Nutrition at University Pierre and Marie Curie, Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital in Paris. She is the former director (2011-2017) of the Institute of Cardio-Metabolism and Nutrition (ICAN) and of an INSERM/university team called “NutriOmics”. Her team works on several aspects of the complex pathophysiology of human obesity, particularly exploring tissue alterations (such as adipose tissue depots, liver, intestine), modified cross-talks and links with comorbidities during human obesity progression and weight loss.
Pr Karine Clements’ team investigated gut microbiota changes induced by dietary changes and bariatric surgery and described significant modifications of bacterial gene richness, bacterial groups and links with metabolic and inflammation phenotypes related to obesity. She published more than 300 papers in the field.
She is member and expert of several national and international scientific committees in obesity and metabolism and contributes to several European Networks. She coordinates METACARDIS a European program on gut microbiota and cardiometabolic.
Xpeer Medical Education is the first accredited medical education app in the market, with video microlearning engaging videos of just 5 minutes.
With a powerful algorithm to personalize the user experience and the contents as the most popular entertaining streaming platforms, it offers a brand new experience for the continuing education and professional development of the healthcare professionals.
Accredited by the European Union of Medical Specialists, it delivers high quality scientific medical education pieces. On Xpeer, you will find this curriculum on Microbiota and 500 hours of medical education in 2021 in your specialty, technologies and professional and personal skills.
Information on accreditation
The app Xpeer is accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) to provide official ECMEC credits recognized officially in 26 countries.
The credits for the users of the module will be 1 European CME credit (ECMEC®) for every hour (60 minutes of actual e-learning excluding introductions etc.) of use, provided that the users have completed a module and have passed the relevant assessment.
Get free training on drug-gut microbiota interactions from Professor Francisco Guarner in this updated CME course. This version includes the latest evidence in the field, as well as a clinical case study.
It now includes a clinical case revealing the profound impact of antibiotic therapy on gut health! Check it out!
Synopsis of the course
Explore the intricate relationship between antibiotics and the human microbiome in this CME course, updated with the latest evidence in the field. Providing you with a more practical approach, the course now includes a clinical case revealing the profound impact of antibiotic therapy on gut health, and how relevant the knowledge acquired in this course will be to your clinical practice.
Understand how dysbiosis, characterized by microbial imbalance, underpins various gastrointestinal and systemic disorders.
Updated with cutting-edge research, discover novel insights into antibiotic-associated dysbiosis and its far-reaching consequences on patient health. Equip yourself with evidence-based strategies to mitigate dysbiosis-related complications and optimize patient outcomes. Join us to navigate the evolving landscape of drug-microbiome interactions in clinical practice.
Exclusive!
You can book a private mentoring session with Professor Guarner on the app!
Who is professor Guarner ?
Francisco Guarner, MD, PhD. has a degree in Medicine and Surgery and specialized in Digestive Diseases.
He carries out his professional activity in the Digestive Pathology Service of the Universitari Vall d'Hebró Hospital.
He has been a research fellow at the Liver United at Kings College Hospital in London and a research fellow in the Prostaglandin Research department of Welcome Research Laboratories.
He is currently a member of the Centre of Network Biomedical Research of hepatic and digestive diseases as principal investigator of the inflammatory bowel diseases group and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics.
He is also president of the Board of Directors of the Probiotics and Prebiotics Spanish Society, member of the Guidelines & Publications Committee of WGO-OMGE (World Gastroenterology Organization) and member of the Steering Committee of the International Human Microbiome Consortium (IHMC).
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Francisco Guarner receives research funding from Abbvie, Takeda and AB-Biotics, and consulting fees from the Danone Institute, Sanofi, Biocodex, Actial, Menarini and Ordesa.
Xpeer Medical Education is the first accredited medical education app in the market, with video microlearning engaging videos of just 5 minutes.
With a powerful algorithm to personalize the user experience and the contents as the most popular entertaining streaming platforms, it offers a brand new experience for the continuing education and professional development of the healthcare professionals.
Accredited by the European Union of Medical Specialists, it delivers high quality scientific medical education pieces. On Xpeer, you will find this curriculum on Microbiota and 500 hours of medical education in 2021 in your specialty, technologies and professional and personal skills.
Information on accreditation
The app Xpeer is accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) to provide official ECMEC credits recognized officially in 26 countries.
The credits for the users of the module will be 1 European CME credit (ECMEC®) for every hour (60 minutes of actual e-learning excluding introductions etc.) of use, provided that the users have completed a module and have passed the relevant assessment.
Antibiotics are an extraordinary scientific discovery that saves millions of lives but their excessive and inappropriate use has now raised serious concerns for health, notably with antibiotic resistance and microbiota dysbiosis. Let’s take a look at this dedicated page:
Each year, since 2015, the WHO organizes the World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW), which aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance.
Held on 18-24 November, this campaign encourages the general public, healthcare professionals and decision-makers to use antimicrobials carefully, to prevent the further emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
Xpeer Medical Education, the global reference in digital medical education, is launching a set of free accrediting courses to improve physician’s knowledge about the importance of human microbiota on health with the support of unrestricted grant by Biocodex Microbiota Institute.
With the practicality of an app, yet, with the expertise of scientists, you can get AMA or EACCME credits.
These courses are made possible thanks to an unrestricted grant by the Microbiota Institute.
A Reliable Expertise
You will get trained by recognized experts, up-to-date and non promotional contents.
International access
Do you prefer another language than English? No worries, all the sessions are subtitled in 7 languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Turkish and, Portuguese.
Accrediting Courses
You will get instant credits! Xpeer is accredited by EACCME and you can convert EACCME credit to AMA credit.
Easy to use format
You don’t need a « how to use » guide. You can access it on your phone with micro-learning sessions and videos.
Free subscriptions
You don’t have to spend a penny! All the courses are free and directly available on the Xpeer app.
Xpeer Medical Education is the first accredited medical education app in the market, with video microlearning engaging videos of just 5 minutes.
With a powerful algorithm to personalize the user experience and the contents as the most popular entertaining streaming platforms, it offers a brand new experience for the continuing education and professional development of the healthcare professionals.
Accredited by the European Union of Medical Specialists, it delivers high quality scientific medical education pieces. On Xpeer, you will find this curriculum on Microbiota and 500 hours of medical education in 2021 in your specialty, technologies and professional and personal skills.
Information on accreditation:
The app Xpeer is accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) to provide official ECMEC credits recognized officially in 26 countries.
The credits for the users of the module will be 1 European CME credit (ECMEC®) for every hour (60 minutes of actual e-learning excluding introductions etc.) of use, provided that the users have completed a module and have passed the relevant assessment.
Modulating the gut microbiota: effective for losing weight?
While the study of gut microbiota opens up new ways to treat obesity, one must proceed with caution. This approach is “just one treatment among others”
Prof. Patrice D. Cani, co-director of the Metabolism and Nutrition research lab at Louvain Drug Research Institute of the Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium)
Are we destined to keep our extra pounds?
Broadly speaking, belief in a miracle cure is delusional. No treatment can beat obesity without the active participation of the subjects (diet, exercise, etc.) and an integrated and personalized approach to their care. Obesity is a long-term complex condition that depends on multiple related factors, including gut microbiota. However, to claim that an (sidenote:
Dysbiosis
Generally defined as an alteration in the composition and function of the microbiota caused by a combination of environmental and individual-specific factors.
Levy M, Kolodziejczyk AA, Thaiss CA, et al. Dysbiosis and the immune system. Nat Rev Immunol. 2017;17(4):219-232.) in the microbial ecosystem inevitably leads to obesity (or conversely that a balanced one ensures a normal weight) is a mistake. It is nonetheless a good idea to maintain a balanced gut microbiota, which is part of a comprehensive and personalized treatment for patients.
Many studies are currently underway on the topic. Some of them show that transplanting microbiota would have no effect on obesity or that it would result in a temporarily improved ability to stabilize blood sugar levels. Results have been disappointing, but provided much valuable information. We now know that donor and recipient microbiota must be compatible. We have also learned that some individuals are more receptive than others to transplant (the same goes for dietary changes) depending on the initial composition of their microbiota. In any event, improving our health by focusing on gut microbiota is a promising avenue, as long as we act reasonably and follow medical and dietary recommendations. Personally, I am convinced of it as my motto is “In Gut We Trust”.
Sources
17 Live microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts) that, upon ingestion in sufficient concentrations, can exert health benefits to the host. They are found in fermented foods (yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, etc.), or in the form of probiotic drugs or dietary supplements.
18 Sugar which serves as food to good bacteria. It can be found in bananas, leeks, onions, artichokes, etc.
Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), also known as stool transplant, is another method which may well prove promising16. Currently prescribed to treat a sole condition far removed from obesity (recurrent Clostridium difficile infections), the procedure consists in this case in transferring (sidenote:
Microorganisms
Living organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. They include bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea and protozoa, and are commonly referred to as “microbes”.
What is microbiology? Microbiology Society.) contained in the stool of donors with normal BMI to obese recipients to “correct” their flora17.
Several research teams are currently exploring the potential value of this approach. They are thoroughly examining its effect on gut microbiota restoration, eating behavior and the proper use of energy resources based on calories consumed17.
17 Live microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts) that, upon ingestion in sufficient concentrations, can exert health benefits to the host. They are found in fermented foods (yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, etc.), or in the form of probiotic drugs or dietary supplements.
It’s the same story for prebiotics. These non-digestible sugars— present in vegetables, whole-grain cereals, legumes, tubers, fruits, nuts, herbs, spices, etc.—nourish good bacteria allowing them to proliferate to the detriment of bad bacteria. While their benefits in combating obesity have been widely demonstrated in the laboratory, human studies have produced divergent results6.
Some prebiotics induced a significant reduction in weight, BMI and waist circumference in obese and overweight adults, while others had no effect6.
As a whole, studies show that prebiotics affect satiety7, but unfortunately this does not lead to weight loss6. Although prebiotics remains an exciting line of research, experts agree that it is still too early to recommend their use in treating obesity and excess weight6.
