Scientists have proposed a new model of animal diseases that includes the role of the microbiome.
Their research suggests that climate change may lead to the emergence of new infectious diseases. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the threat of infectious disease to the fore. At the time of writing, there have been more than 9 million recorded cases of the disease worldwide.
Infectious diseases, particularly those crossing species boundaries (zoonoses), are rising as a result of human activities. This increase is partly due to climate change, which is encouraging some pathogen-carrying species to move outside their current habitat range.
For example, the tiger mosquito, which transmits the viral disease Chikungunya, is currently expanding its geographic range across Europe and the Americas, putting millions of people at risk.
A paper that Trends in Parasitology recently published includes a synthesis of research into infectious diseases in humans and wildlife. It presents a new model of infectious disease dynamics that takes account of the role of the microbiome — the “good” bacteria that live on and inside us.
The microbiome describes the communities of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, in a particular context. In an animal context, microbial communities live on and inside the host and perform important roles, including protecting against pathogens and helping break down food.
VITAMIN A MAY HELP TREAT EARLY VISION LOSS IN DIABETES: Scientists have recently found that mice with diabetes that received treatment with a vitamin A analog had significantly improved eyesight.
According to the National Eye Institute, diabetic retinopathy is an eye condition that can result in the loss of vision for people with diabetes. In its mid to late stages, the condition occurs due to damage to the blood vessels in a person’s retina.
People with diabetes are at risk of having too much sugar in their blood. The sugar can cause blood vessels to block, resulting in bleeding. The eye can develop new blood vessels, but these typically do not function well and can also easily bleed. Treatment can take the form of injections, laser treatment, or eye surgery, depending on a person’s circumstances.
To determine whether or not this was the case, the researchers looked at the effectiveness of the chromophore 9-cis-retinal in the treatment of vision loss in mice with diabetes. They used 9-cis-retinal rather than 11-cis-retinal produced by the body, as the latter is highly unstable and not commercially available. However, the two are closely related.
For the study, the researchers used three groups of mice: two that scientists created to have diabetes and one that matched the age and sex of the mice with diabetes but did not have it themselves (the control group).
One group of mice with diabetes received an injection of a single dose of 9-cis-retinal, while the other received a placebo. The team then analyzed the state of vision for all the mice by measuring electroretinogram responses, retinal cell death, and retinal oxidative stress.
