Cracking the mysteries of the human microbiome—those teeming communities of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live on and within each of us—remains one of medicine’s most exciting frontiers.

As the number of transplants increased so did the methods of delivery.  Today the debate is whether or not to designate the FMT as an investigational drug or to continue with the FMTs as organ transplants.

Levi Teigen, assistant professor in the U of M’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences Department of Food Science and Nutrition, shares some insights on the role clinical nutrition can play in managing digestive diseases. 

The intestinal microbiota, also commonly known as the ‘‘gut microbiome’’ is integral to human physiology and has wide-ranging effects on the development and function of the immune system, energy metabolism and even nervous system activity.

On the surface, sunlight and gut microbes seem to have nothing in common — after all, your gut bacteria are unlikely to find themselves catching some rays.

A new, highly active sector of therapeutics in the form of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged in the last several years based on novel paradigms in medicine that are challenging to the regulators such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA held a public comment session on Monday in Washington, D.C., to hear testimony on the agency’s policy on enforcement discretion of fecal microbiota transplantation for patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection, as well as what is needed to make a path forward to approval.

The Twin Cities is emerging as a major player in what could become a multibillion dollar industry: Gut science.

At first glance, it might seem odd that our gut microbiome plays an influential role in our immune system response. It’s not so strange, though, considering that the vast majority of our immune cells, up to 70%–80% of them, hang out in the intestine regularly.