NEWSLETTER: 116th Abbott Nutrition Research Conference on The Maternal Microbiome & Perinatal Colonization
Publish Date:
19 April 2017
Author(s):
Amy R. Beaudreault, PhD
Abstract:
Highlights from the 116th Abbott Nutrition Research Conference on The Maternal Microbiome & Perinatal Colonization, including these:
- Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota is associated with allergies, asthma, autism, colon cancer, Crohn’s disease, COPD, diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. (p 5)
- During development, a fetus can be “misinformed” by maternal pharmaceutical exposure, malnutrition, inflammatory diseases, and dysglycemia. (p 6)
- The gut microbiome may regulate metabolic and cardiovascular health in pregnancy. (p 7)
- Prenatal exposure to stress leads to alterations in the gut microbiome in a preclinical model. (p 7)
- Although milk produced by healthy moms was once thought to be sterile, emerging research suggests that it contains a diverse and live microbial community. (p 8)
- Bifidobacteria support infant health by: inhibiting pathogens, regulating metabolic function, and promoting SCFA production. (p 9)
- The microbiome of full-term vaginally born, exclusively human milk-fed infants with no previous exposure to antibiotics can be considered the “gold standard.” (p 9)
- Up to one-third of preterm births may follow microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity. (p 10)
- Human milk partially corrects gut dysbiosis and decreases the risk of NEC in preterm infants. (p 11)
Author Bios

B. Brett Finlay, PhD
University of British Columbia; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Deborah Sloboda, PhD
McMaster University; Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Marloes Dekker Nitert, PhD
The University of Queensland; Brisbane, Australia

Tamar L. Gur, MD, PhD
The Ohio State University, College of Medicine; Columbus, Ohio, USA

Michelle (Shelley) K. McGuire, PhD
Washington State University; Pullman, Washington, USA

David A. Sela, PhD
University of Massachusetts Amherst; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Catherine Stanton, DSc, PhD, MSc, BSc
APC Microbiome Institute & Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre; Cork, Ireland

Roberto Romero, MD, DMEDSCI
Intramural Division, NICHD, NIH, DHHS; Wayne State University; Detroit, Michigan, USA

Mark A. Underwood, MD
The University of California Davis School of Medicine; Sacramento, California, USA
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