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Updated: Jul 9, 2026
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An In Vitro Batch-culture Model to Estimate the Effects of Interventional Regimens on Human Fecal Microbiota
Published on: July 31, 2019
Alterations in intestinal microbial flora and human disease
Mohamed Othman1, Roberto Agüero, Henry C Lin
1Gastroenterology Section, New Mexico VA Healthcare System, Albuquerque, NM 87108, USA.
Current Opinion in Gastroenterology
|November 29, 2007
Summary
Altered gut flora, or dysbiosis, is increasingly linked to various human diseases. Understanding this connection, particularly small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, offers new diagnostic and treatment possibilities.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Gastroenterology
- Human Health
Background:
- The human gut hosts a vast microbial community crucial for health.
- Recent research highlights the role of altered commensal gut flora in disease.
- The relationship between host and gut microbes is intricate and impacts health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review evidence linking altered gut flora to human diseases.
- To explore the clinical implications of shifts in the host-gut microbial relationship.
- To identify novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies based on microbiota alterations.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent studies on gut microbiota and human disease.
- Focus on conditions associated with altered commensal gut flora.
- Examination of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth as a key example.
Main Results:
- Altered gut flora is implicated in common conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.
- Increased intestinal permeability and immune activation are consequences of dysbiosis.
- Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth affects conditions including pancreatitis, gastroenteritis, and hepatic encephalopathy.
Conclusions:
- Altered commensal gut microbiota plays a significant role in numerous human diseases.
- Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is a key example with broad clinical effects.
- Identifying the role of microbiota in disease can lead to improved diagnostics and therapeutics.
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