Undeveloped immune systems are not the only culprit in infants’ susceptibility.
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Undeveloped microbiomes make infants more prone to illness
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A sudden uptick in poop articles at Ars... interesting nevertheless. Would have been cool if they had done the study in immunocompromised mice too, to see if this restored immunity.
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It seems that it has only been in the last 20 years that medical science has begun to seriously look at the microbiome of our guts. I think this will become a VERY important part of our understanding of how the human body manages itself. How the body responds to its environment determines its fate and that response is a combination of hormones and chemicals that the body releases to compensate AND what a group of organisms in the gut do. I believe we will eventually find that many ailments have been made worse because the indiscriminate use of antibiotics has seriously harmed the microbiome in the gut. I also believe we will eventually find that certain organisms should always be present and restoring the gut microbiome will become a normal part of using a course of antibiotics.
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That's not too surprising. The surprising bit is that they aren't all written by Lee "Bristol Scale" Hutchinson. The infection seems to be spreading rapidly through the rest of the staff... spreading like salmonella in a mouse with a poor gut microbiome.
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I remember in biology class learning about termites that transferred bacteria from their guts to the rears of newly hatched termites -- these are the bacteria that make it possible for them to digest wood. Wondering if there's an ethical situation for testing this in humans -- could infants be less susceptible to disease if they receive a fecal transplant from a parent just after birth?
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There have been studies that show going through the birth canal inoculates the baby with mother's biome. Babies born through C-section don't get this and tend to have immune issues - such as allergies - later in life. So now studies are being done to see if exposing c-section infants to the same bacteria help.
-d
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Most immunocompromise is due to defects in genes in the immune system, or severe damage to the hematopoietic system such as cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiation. One might expect that tinkering with a micro biome might help this at the margin, but one would not expect it to do much to the underlying condition.
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Infants also have the inborn behavior of picking things up and immediately putting them into their mouths.
Some parents seem to think this means you need to be sure your infant exists in a sterilized environment, which may be just the opposite of "helping".
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no babies are not born with a fully intact gi system which is why mothers are encouraged to breastfeed so the immunites of the mother can be passed along to the child while their's grows out. otherwise you wouldn't see formula being looked at like your killing your baby.
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Haverhill fever, aka Rat bite fever, isn't transmitted by rat bites, the bacteria can be transmitted through rat urine, feces, and yes saliva, so getting "kisses" from a rat can transmit it. The animals that have it, just have it. It doesn't impact them at all.
Bad name for the symptoms of bacteria transfer.
Bad name for the symptoms of bacteria transfer.
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How do you get "germ-free adult mice" ? Are they grown in a sterile environment, or just given a ton of antibiotics prior to the experiment ?
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Vaginal birth tends to have a similar effect. Of course, if mom's microbiome isn't diverse, what her newborn acquires during birth will be limited as well.
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So it's not antibodies in colostrum, but bacteria, that help the baby's immune system kickstart?
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don't you just want to smoosh little mouse pups under your fists like some giant mean alien? I also want to smoosh respresentations of babies in cartoons. I think it may be linked to some sort of prey dominance like cats playing with their live food. In any event, smoosh the babbies!
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