I'm forwarding this study summary because of the statement 'early life is a
critical period of establishing a healthy immune system'.   Never hurts to
have that in writing!

 

Ingrid 

 

Ingrid Tilstra

La Leche League Canada Leader

International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

 




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Mar. 16, 2012


 
<http://ubc.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=41d2f5a5ac495d104c6619f5f&id=e
0b053a5da&e=5339eca11b> Exposure to antibiotics linked to severity of
allergic asthma: UBC research



Widely used antibiotics may increase incidence and severity of allergic
asthma in early life, according to a University of British Columbia study.

The
<http://ubc.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=41d2f5a5ac495d104c6619f5f&id=5
bf640c073&e=5339eca11b> study, published today in the journal EMBO reports,
shows that certain antibiotics that affect intestinal bacteria also had a
profound impact on allergic asthma.

"It has long been suspected that kids exposed to more antibiotics - like
those in developed countries - are more prone to allergic asthma," says the
study's author, UBC microbiologist Brett Finlay. "Our study is the first
experimental proof that shows how."

Finlay's team at UBC's Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology and Michael
Smith Laboratories examined how two widely used antibiotics - streptomycin
and vancomycin - affected the bacterial "ecosystem" in the gut. They found
that vancomycin profoundly alters the bacterial communities in the intestine
and increases severity of asthma in mouse models.

The same antibiotics do not impact adult mice's susceptibility to asthma,
indicating that early life is a critical period of establishing a healthy
immune system.

Allergic asthma affects more than 100 million people worldwide and its
prevalence is increasing on average by 50 per cent every decade,
particularly among children in industrialized countries. According to the
Asthma Society of Canada, asthma affects at least 12 per cent of Canadian
children.

The human gut is colonized by approximately 100 trillion bacteria, and
contains upwards of 1,000 bacterial species. While not fully understood,
these micro-organisms, known as "gut flora," perform a host of useful
functions, says Finlay.

"Modern societal practices, such as improved sanitation methods and
widespread antibiotic use, are causing the disappearance of ancestral
species of bacteria in our gut that may be critical to a healthy immune
system," says Finlay.

"Our study shows this is the case with certain antibiotics and allergic
asthma, and the gut-lung connection is also consistent with observations
that incidence of asthma has not increased significantly in developing
countries where antibiotic use is less prevalent - and in turn, the gut
flora is permitted to fully develop."

The study is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
through the
<http://ubc.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=41d2f5a5ac495d104c6619f5f&id=
804e646679&e=5339eca11b> Canadian Microbiome Initiative, in partnership with
Genome British Columbia and the Allergy, Genes and Environment Network
(AllerGen NCE).

Marc Ouellette, Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Infection and
Immunity, noted the importance of the team's results: "It has been
recognized that microbes play an important role in human health - and we are
discovering that a disruption of these bugs is associated with a number of
chronic health conditions. The important results from Prof. Finlay's team
confirm that giving antibiotics to young children, which disturb their
normal bacterial flora, should not be taken lightly."

The
<http://ubc.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=41d2f5a5ac495d104c6619f5f&id=0
f6472129c&e=5339eca11b> Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the
Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is
to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into
improved health, more effective health services and products, and a
strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR
provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and
trainees across Canada.

 

  _____  

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<http://ubc.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=41d2f5a5ac495d104c6619f5f&id=0
ee13dd072&e=5339eca11b>
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-severity-of-allergic-asthma-ubc-research/

 
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Image: EMBO-figur
- Antibiotics that affect intestinal bacteria also had a profound impact on
allergic asthma, according to a study led by University of British Columbia
microbiologist Brett Finlay. (Credit: Shannon Russell, Brett Finlay, UBC)

Image: BrettFinla
- UBC microbiologist Brett Finlay (Credit: Martin Dee, UBC)




 
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