Microbes and healthful longevity
Author(s)
Erdman, Susan E.
DownloadErdman_Microbes and healthful.pdf (413.0Kb)
PUBLISHER_CC
Publisher with Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution
Terms of use
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The popularity of hand sanitizer and antibiotics shows how we feel about bacteria: an enemy that’s bad for our health. Emerging data, however, suggest just the opposite - that exposures to certain kinds of bacteria are beneficial for a long and healthy life, at least in part by inhibiting a wasting syndrome termed cachexia [1]. Cachexia, a condition defined as muscle wasting associated with chronic disease, arises during cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with debilitating consequences resulting in premature death and creating a major public health burden. A growing body of research involving the host immune system reveals great potential for commensal bacteria to treat diseases and improve quality of life in animal hosts [2].
Date issued
2016-05Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Division of Comparative MedicineJournal
Aging
Publisher
Impact Journals, LLC
Citation
Erdman, Susan. “Microbes and Healthful Longevity.” Aging 8, no. 5 (May 24, 2016): 839–840. © 2016 Impact Journals, LLC.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
1945-4589