Microbiome Monologue

Hi, my name is Lauren and I believe that I am your biological granddaughter. I realize that my Mom tried to contact you in the past and you said that you did not want contact but I wanted to try and contact you myself. If you don't want to talk to me that is fine as well, just respond with no or no thanks

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the bronchial mucosa and hyperreactive bronchial tubes. Its etiology has been linked to both genetic and environmental factors. Several genes, including those that influence the production of proteins and cells involved in the immune response (such as interleukins, eosinophils, mast cells) have been linked with asthma. A decreased number of T-regulatory cells is also associated with asthma. Environmental factors linked with asthma include exposure to allergens, urban residence, and smoking (or exposure to secondary smoke). Recurrent respiratory tract viral infections may also contribute to the development of asthma. Decreased exposure to certain infectious organisms during early childhood, and the consequent underdevelopment of the immune response, can also lead to the development of asthma--this is known as the hygiene hypothesis (McCance & Huether, 2014, p. 1263-4).

Beigelman, A., & Bacharier, L. B. (2016). Early-life respiratory infections and asthma development. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 16(2), 172-178.

My interest in medicine was triggered by my own early experiences with nut allergy, which I was diagnosed with as a child. It fuelled my pursuit of knowledge in medical science as I was fascinated how there is not a known cause of peanut allergy. This captivating medical dilemma led me to recognise that there is a lot yet to be discovered in medicine. My curiosity in this field inspired me to initiate contact with allergy specialists and write a personal study on the topic where I explored the genetic and environmental effects of developing a peanut allergy.

Allergies are very common and global chronic diseases which occurs when the people’s immune system overreacts a substance which is judged to be harmful to human body. It’s now becoming major public health problem in developed countries especially in Australia. In 2007, according to an ASCIA-Access Economics Report that 4.1 million Australians (19.6% of the population) had at least one allergic disease. Also specialists speculate if Australia’s ageing trend continues, there will be a 70% increase in the number of Australians with allergy, from 4.1 million in 2007 to 7.68 million by 2050 (26.1% of the population). In this article, three aspects which related to allergies in Australia will be discussed in turn: causes, symptoms

Atopy is defined as an inherited tendency to produce immunoglobulin E antibodies in response to common environmental proteins such as pollen, house dust mites, and food allergens. Atopic dermatitis affects about one-fifth of all individuals during their lifetime, but the prevalence varies throughout the world. Around 50 percent of patients with atopic dermatitis will develop symptoms within their first year of life, and probably 95 percent experience an onset below five years of age. A child with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis have 50 percent of risk of developing asthma and 75 percent of risk of developing hay fever. A typical patient with atopic dermatitis will present with an early onset of itchy eczema localized at sites such as the flexures of the elbows and knees. The skin lesion in atopic dermatitis is not differ from other eczemas such as contact eczema. In its acute form, eczema is characterized by a lively red infiltrate with edema, vesicles, oozing, and crusting. Whereas in the subacute and chronic form, lichenification, excoriations, papules, and nodules are noted (Thomsen,

Having a family history of skin rashes, reactions to foods, skin prick tests and total serum IgE levels determined the mother and the father atopic status. After reviewing table 2, it appears that for gestational age and birth weight of infants who have an atopic background are at higher risk of developing eczema. Non-atopic parents can also have infants at risk for developing eczema. Non-atopic parents can reduce the risk of their infants developing eczema by not feeding infants solid foods at least until 10 weeks post-term which leads me to the feeding practices for

The human gut microbiota has become the subject of researches in recent years and our knowledge of the resident species and their potential functional capacity is rapidly growing. Our gut harbors a complex community of over 100 trillion microbial cells. Therefore, our gut microbiota evolves with us and plays a pivotal role in human health and disease. This has clear effects on physiologic, immunologic, and metabolic processes in human health, aberrations in the gut microbiome and intestinal homeostasis have the capacity for multisystem effects. Changes in microbial composition are implicated in the increasing for a broad range of inflammatory diseases, such as allergic disease, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, and associated

There are three main players in the development of allergies: immunoglobulin E (IgE), mast cells and histamine. IgE is a specific type of antibody that has a significant role in the development of allergies; IgE is able to bind to both allergens and to mast cells, cells that mediate inflammatory responses such as hypersensitivity and allergic reactions (3). Once IgE binds to an allergen, the allergen releases T cells to stimulate B cells, developing into plasma cells that produce and release more antibodies (4). Once

Physiological books—specifically those about the gut microbiota and the importance of the digestive system—took up the most rows in my mental library due to the fact that I can use their knowledge to positively impact countless lives, starting with the ones closest to home. I grew up allergic to pollen, dust, peanuts, oatmeal, and even penicillin. My mother has an issue with Helicobacter pylori in her stomach and cholesterol levels. My father is genetically predisposed towards high blood pressure. Through these books, I gained a better understanding of the biological human; specifically, I learned about how central the digestive system is to the body, not only by providing nutrients but also, through its resident bacteria, by regulating immune function. Through learning more about this expansive mass, I can help my loved ones change their lifestyle and dietary habits to improve their

Doctors from The Department of Dermatology and Venereology, University Hospital and the medical faculty of Charles University conducted a study of adverse food reactions and their relation to atopic eczema. Atopic eczema (AE) is one of the earliest types of atopy with the highest incidence during the first three months of life (Bonifazi and Meneghini, 1989). This study was brought forth from the idea that there was only a few population based data in existence. The objective of this study was an assessment of anamnestic data in patients with AE obtained through questionnaires and statistical evaluations.

Treatment of allergic diseases represents a vast source of global healthcare costs. Allergies affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide with the number of cases continuing to increase at an alarming rate. The study of allergies and how genes and environmental factors affect them are ongoing. Currently, allergen immunotherapy is one of the few viable forms of treatment recognized. However, an alternative method of therapy utilizing microbes may be on the horizon.

Breastfeeding has been shown to have a series of protective benefits against an extensive assortment of health problems that may occur in infancy and throughout childhood. Human milk contains assorted anti-infective proteins. IgA, cytokines, lactoferrin, lysozomes, and fatty acids are among a few of the protective components of breast milk. These anti-infective proteins, along with other substances present in human milk stimulates the development of the infant’s immune system in preparation for protection against a range of infections and disease. Wheezing disorders and asthma are common chronic health conditions that affect children, families, and society. Past studies on the relationship concerning breastfeeding and asthma have contained differing results. The majority of past reviews on the relation of breastfeeding and childhood asthma were inclined to agree that breastfeeding has protective benefits. Other studies found there was no decreased risk and some concluded an increased risk for developing asthma for those that were breastfed. Those reviews had limitations in that most included studies conducted prior to 2002, some did not include a meta-analysis, and some did not address differences between the studies. Discrepancies between studies may be due to differences in study design, methods, measurements, and population selection. These methodological shortcomings would result in heterogeneous

In an unfortunate event, a child may end up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with sever to life threatening ailments. What most people don’t realize is that these children, on average, show signs of weakened immune system and a decrease in their bacteria diversity, also known as their microbiome health. According to a Pennsylvania researcher, Matthew Rogers and his associates, there is evidence that the diversity of critically ill children is far lower when compared to a healthy child. The larger the diversity of your microbiome, the healthier a person is believed to be, which could account for a correlation between a decreasing microbiome diversity and an increase in disease risk.

Allergies are among the most common inveterate case worldwide. Allergy symptoms range from making you powerless to putting you at risk for life-menacing reaction.Food allergies are defined as “ the body 's abnormal responses to harmless foods; the reactions are caused by the immune system 'sreaction to some food proteins” (thefreedictionary.difntion.com).In other words,The job of the body’s immune system is to identify and ruin germs (such as bacteria or viruses) that make you sick. A food allergy results when the immune system wrong targets a harmless food protein an allergen as menace and attacks it.