Free Republic

In a study, Dr. Shai Bel and his research team have uncovered crucial insights into how antibiotic use increases the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study demonstrates that antibiotics interfere with the protective mucus layer in the intestine, a discovery that could reshape our understanding of antibiotic effects and IBD development. IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affects approximately 1% of the global population. This debilitating condition is marked by the erosion of the mucosal layer that serves as a critical barrier between the gut microbiome and the immune system. Despite ongoing research, the exact causes...

Gay men are more than twice as likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than heterosexual men when both populations engage in high-risk sexual activity. "To our knowledge, this is the first large population-based study that demonstrates a higher prevalence of IBD in men who engage in high-risk same-sex sexual activity," said Emad Mansoor. "Our study is expected to open a new field of research into gastrointestinal inflammatory conditions." "Studying the cause of IBD in this underrepresented patient population in comparison to other patient groups," said Fabio Cominelli, "will allow us to further investigate the cause of disease development in...

Research by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an international team traces the toxic impact of a common consumer product on the gut microbiome and induces colitis. A new study conducted in mice demonstrates precisely how triclosan, an antimicrobial found in toothpaste, toys, and thousands of other products, can trigger gut inflammation. An international team of researchers led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Hong Kong Baptist University identified the bacteria, and even specific enzymes, that trigger triclosan’s harmful effects. Moreover, studies in mice suggest these bacterial enzymes...