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For patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), those who are male and/or have low Alistipes levels are more likely to be nonresponders to fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), according to a study published in Neurogastroenterology & Motility. Magdy El-Salhy, M.D., Ph.D., from Stord Hospital in Norway, and colleagues included 109 patients who received allogeneic FMT to examine factors potentially affecting FMT response. At baseline and at two weeks, one month, and three months after FMT, patients completed questionnaires that assessed their symptoms and quality of life. Fecal samples were also provided at baseline and one month after FMT. The researchers found...

In the face of diabetes, a common condition in which glucose and levels of destructive inflammation soar, whole body vibration appears to improve how well our body uses glucose as an energy source and adjust our microbiome and immune cells to deter inflammation, investigators report. For the first time they have described how regular use of whole body vibration can create this healthier mix by yielding a greater percentage of macrophages—cells that can both promote or prevent inflammation—that suppress rather than promote. In their mouse model, investigators at the Medical College of Georgia and Dental College of Georgia at Augusta...