preview

Human Stomach And Impacts Of Human Gut Bacterial Transplantation

Good Essays

Siddu Navaneetha Mrs. Schott Chemistry Honors 24 November 2014 Interactions between Methanobrevibacter smithii and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron in the human stomach and impacts of human gut bacterial transplantation in mice on obesity Obesity is becoming an increasing problem in America, as well as the whole world. As defined by the CDC, an individual is considered obese when they have a BMI of 30.0 or higher. BMI stands for body-mass index, and is used as a standard for measuring the % body fat of an individual.(CDC, 2014) In addition to being overweight, obesity comes with a myriad of other health risks including: high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.(NIH, 2012) In 2013, a study focusing on the relationship between concentrations of hydrogen and methane in an individual’s breath and the individual’s body weight happened upon a startling discovery. Conducted by Dr. Ruchi Mathur of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the study examined the breath of 792 people. There were four distinct sets of results. One group had normal concentrations of both gases, one with higher concentrations of hydrogen, one had higher concentrations of methane, and lastly one group had higher concentrations of both gases. All things aside, the individuals with higher concentrations of both gases also had notably greater BMIs than the rest.(Mathur, 2013) Focusing on obesity, this group is the one of greatest interest. This higher concentration of methane is connected

Get Access