Allergy season is here unfortunately but what if the microbes in your gut during the first month of life determine your risk of having allergies or asthma later in life? Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco and the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit have studied this and the results show that certain gut microbes in infants increase the risk of allergies and asthma later in childhood. It was found that a molecule that reduce the abundance of a certain immune cell that prevents allergies were present in at-risk babies. The only other strong links found between allergies and asthma were males were more likely to be affected and having a dog in the household actually lowered the risk of allergies and asthma. Could the microbes in these baby's gut be altered so that they will not have such a high risk of having allergies or asthma later in life?
Read more at: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2016/09/404071/newborn-gut-microbiome-predicts-later-allergy-and-asthma-study-finds
What microbes? As John Hodgman says, "Specificity is the soul of narrative". Don't hold back.
ReplyDeleteFurther research was done on stool samples of 130 neonates. Based on this research, they discovered that the healthy neonates had a variety of molecules that reduce inflammation that included lipids that the researchers suspect to nourish T-regulatory cells. These lipids were not present in the at-risk babies. Instead, different fats such as "12, 13 DIHOME" were present. This fat is also associated with asthma in adults. It was found that this fat is what can result in a reduction of the number of T-regulatory cells which creates a weak immune system.
DeleteAnd this is why I will always have at least one dog in the house. They make everything better. I remember reading about how dogs also help children develop stronger immune systems in general because they're exposed to the bacteria on the dog or something of that sort. Point is, every baby should have a dog.
ReplyDeleteI have always had allergies during allergy season! I think it is very interesting that people could be able to find out if their child would have the risk of having allergies at such an early age and it could also prepare them for what is to come. I understand that having a dog in the household could help decrease the likeliness of allergies because they could track in different things to help build up your immune system at a young age. This reminds of how people say to not keep your child cooped up in the house because they need to be exposed to the environment in order to build up their immune system. I am also curious about whether the researchers or other researchers could induce the growth of this microbiome that could reduce the rick of allergies in the gut of children who do not have it.
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting because my older brother had severe allergies to the seasons changing, any type of dust or pollen, you name it he had it, but reading about the dogs and how they help with allergies, maybe if my parents had a dog when he was born it might of changed it. We thought maybe his daughter would have allergies as well but she doesn't because we all have dogs in our household and now this paper is turning on the light bulb that dogs really do help with allergies.
ReplyDelete