The deficiency of some bacteria can cause health problems for babies even before they are born

  The microbiota, made up of billions of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, can have important implications for health and can influence the response that our body has to treatments against AIDS or cancer. That is why the first years of a person's life are an opportunity to introduce changes and prevent these problems.

In the case of babies, the deficiency of some bacteria can increase the risk of developing asthma. This is demonstrated by a recent study led by Stuart Turvey, professor of pediatrics at the University of British Columbia (Canada).

After monitoring 5,000 children, the study proves that babies with alterations in four types of intestinal bacteria during the first 100 days of life have a higher risk of suffering from asthma, a disease that affects 300 million people worldwide. "In the lab, managing these four missing bacteria appears to reduce the risk of asthma, but we don't know for sure," says Turvey.

This is one of the novelties on the microbiome that have been made known at an international meeting called by B · Debate, an initiative of Biocat and Obra Social "la Caixa" in conjunction with the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, which took place at CosmoCaixa on June 30 and July 1.

The constitution of the childhood microbiome is of great relevance for the health of the person until adulthood. The investigations still have a long way to go, but some progress has been revealed during the debate. Kjersti Aagaard, associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, is the first researcher to have identified a community of bacteria in the placenta. "Contrary to what was thought, the placenta is not sterile and seems to influence the microbiome of the child more than the way it is born," explains Aagaard.

Until now it was believed that the baby began to acquire the mother's microbiota at the time of delivery, but Aagaard has highlighted that the mother's diet during pregnancy can alter the child's microbiome and its tendency to anxiety.

This new research can help to design new early detection tests (for example, in the case of asthma) or new probiotic treatments. While the investigation is progressing, the experts are clear that "the administration of antibiotics must be controlled, because they are a risk factor," says Turvey in relation to asthma.

During the debate, other issues related to the microbiota, such as HIV infection or cancer, have been put on the table. Roger Paredes, one of the scientific leaders of the debate and researcher at IrsiCaixa, has explained that HIV patients have a less rich microbiota. "Restoring it could improve the evolution of the disease," he says. In the case of cancer, Laurence Zitvogel, from the Gustave Roussy Institute, has spoken of the so-called oncomicrobiòtics: microbes that can influence the effect of chemotherapy against cancer.