Human Gut Microbiota: Toward an Ecology of Disease

Composed of trillions of individual microbes, the human gut microbiota has adapted to the uniquely diverse environments found in the human intestine. Quickly responding to the variances in the ingested food, the microbiota interacts with the host via reciprocal biochemical signaling to coordinate the exchange of nutrients and proper immune function. Host and microbiota function as a unit which guards its balance against invasion by potential pathogens and which undergoes natural selection. Disturbance of the microbiota composition, or dysbiosis, is often associated with human disease, indicating that, while there seems to be no unique optimal composition of the gut microbiota, a balanced community is crucial for human health. Emerging knowledge of the ecology of the microbiota-host synergy will have an impact on how we implement antibiotic treatment in therapeutics and prophylaxis and how we will consider alternative strategies of global remodeling of the microbiota such as fecal transplants. Here we examine the microbiota-human host relationship from the perspective of the microbial community dynamics

Cohort profile. the ESC-EORP chronic ischemic cardiovascular disease long-term (CICD LT) registry

The European Society of cardiology (ESC) EURObservational Research Programme (EORP) Chronic Ischemic Cardiovascular Disease registry Long Term (CICD) aims to study the clinical profile, treatment modalities and outcomes of patients diagnosed with CICD in a contemporary environment in order to assess whether these patients at high cardiovascular risk are treated according to ESC guidelines on prevention or on stable coronary disease and to determine mid and long term outcomes and their determinants in this population