Severe acute malnutrition is a life-threatening disease affecting millions of children. A recent study has now identified an immature gut microbiome as an important contributing factor in children with kwashiorkor. The condition was transmissible into gnotobiotic mice by combining stool transplantation and region-specific diet. In addition, antibiotics reduce mortality in children with kwashiorkor.
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Prediction of mortality in severe acute malnutrition in hospitalized children by faecal volatile organic compound analysis: proof of concept
Scientific Reports Open Access 05 November 2020
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H. Tilg would like to acknowledge the support of the Christian Doppler Research Society.
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Tilg, H., Moschen, A. Malnutrition and microbiota—a new relationship?. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 10, 261–262 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.48
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.48
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