Personalised medicine and the microbiome

A recently published review in Nature Reviews Microbiology looked at “Utilization of the microbiome in personalized medicine”. It explores the idea that it is not just genetics that influence how good a treatment is or isn’t for individual, but also the microbiome (all the micro-organisms the live on and in us).

These microbes can play a part in metabolising drugs and influencing their effectiveness in a host of other ways. There have been recent advances in using personal microbiome data when treating a range of diseases.

The authors conclude “continued exploration of the microbiome and its roles in human health and disease will enable novel and personalized diagnostic and therapeutic modalities to improve patient care.” In other words we are still a long way from applying, for example, data from a stool sample for prescribing a drug or probiotic, however we inch our way closer all the time.

References

Ratiner, K., Ciocan, D., Abdeen, S.K. et al. Utilization of the microbiome in personalized medicine. Nat Rev Microbiol 22, 291–308 (2024).

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00998-9