Gut microbiome features predict devastating disease affecting preemies
In a discovery that challenges long-standing assumptions about necrotizing enterocolitis, a sudden and often fatal intestinal illness that affects premature infants, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified previously unknown predictors for the disease.
A groundbreaking study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified previously unknown predictors for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a sudden and often fatal intestinal illness affecting premature infants. Bacteria-infecting viruses and bacterial antibiotic-resistance genes within babies' gut microbiomes have been found to be key harbingers of the disease, potentially allowing clinicians to predict NEC risk up to eight days before clinical symptoms appear.
The study, published in Gut, is the first to show that these biomarkers in stool can predict human disease risk with high accuracy. Mortality rates for NEC have remained unchanged since its description 65 years ago, and predicting it has been virtually nonexistent until now. By identifying these early warning signals, the researchers hope to enable earlier intervention and potentially save lives.
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