Professors Merryn Tawhai and Justin O’Sullivan, deputy directors of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and Liggins Institute, said some people are more susceptible to the disease than others, and some are more responsive to treatment. While experts expect to see smoking-related COPD cases declining over the next couple of decades – in line with reduced smoking rates – there are concerns vaping could cause similar issues.
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University of Auckland researchers Justin O Sullivan and Merryn Tawhai are pioneering a new approach to the understanding of COPD. “It’s quite possible that a person who is a lifetime vaper will develop something that is very similar to COPD,” Tawhai said.
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Participants took 28 capsules containing the gut bacteria of four healthy donors over two days.
Much to the delight of the scientists, the bacteria survived in the gut. But while the bacteria stayed, so did the fat. We thought that they would get dramatic weight loss, it didn t happen, Cutfield said.
But what they did find was really quite exciting. What we did see was that metabolic syndrome almost disappeared in those treated. Metabolic syndrome is a condition with higher blood pressure, higher blood sugars, higher lipids, too much tummy fat. Major risk for diabetes, major risk for heart disease, he said.
After 6 weeks: aMD -0.021 (95% CI -0.041 to -0.001)
After 12 weeks: aMD -0.023 (95% CI -0.043 to -0.003)
After 26 weeks: aMD -0.029 (95% CI -0.049 to -0.008)
A post-hoc exploratory analysis also found that kids with obesity who fit the criteria for metabolic syndrome at baseline were more likely to have their metabolic syndrome resolved 26 weeks later with FMT compared to the placebo group (adjusted odds ratio 0.06, 95% CI 0.01-0.45,
P=0.007). In total, only four of the 18 participants with metabolic syndrome at baseline still had the condition after their fecal transfer. In contrast, 10 of 13 cases of metabolic syndrome remained in the placebo group.
Those who received the FMT also saw a bit of a shift in community composition as seen via gut microbiome profiling, with this shift maintained for up to 12 weeks after the transfer.