Dog poop microbiome predicts canine inflammatory bowel disease
Monday, October 3, 2016 - 15:01
in Health & Medicine
Our gut microbiomes—the varieties of microbes living in our digestive tracts—may play a role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Since dogs can also suffer from IBD, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine analyzed fecal samples from dogs with and without the disease. They discovered a pattern of microbes indicative of IBD in dogs. With more than 90 percent accuracy, the team was able to use that information to predict which dogs had IBD and which did not. However, they also determined that the gut microbiomes of dogs and humans are not similar enough to use dogs as animal models for humans with this disease.