3/ Microbiome

[ SPOTLIGHT / VANCOUVER ]

University of British Columbia’s B. Brett Finlay is a microbiologist interested in the microbiome’s effect on the “bookends of life” – birth and aging.

“The past decade has seen an explosion of information about the microbes that live in and on us and their effects on health, including healthy aging. We now realize they play a fundamental role in our early development, including impacting the immune system, the gut and even brain development.

“As we create ever more hygienic environments, these missing microbes seem to play a major role in aging and disease. They impact cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and inflammatory bowel disease. Although diet and exercise are touted as healthy aging factors, we now know that many of their effects are actually a result of their impact on our microbiota (its genetic material makes up the microbiome).

“The next decade will see an explosion in microbiota-based preventatives and therapies, moving from fecal material transfers to biotherapeutic products – live bacteria from healthy people’s digestive systems. Perhaps the most exciting promise is in the gut-brain axis. It seems that gut bugs have some effects on the brain, although we know little about how. Still, they can affect dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, anxiety, stress, depression and autism. It’s no exaggeration to say the microbiota is causing a revolution in medicine, including new ways to think about health, disease and longevity.”

THE FUTURE

A 2014 study of aging mice by Dalhousie University researchers suggests frailty associated with old age may be related to gut bacteria. They say an aging microbiome could affect the availability of vitamins B12 and B7, as well as DNA repair, and may interfere with the effectiveness of drugs. They hope the findings lead to new treatments.