The microbiota as target for therapeutic intervention in pediatric intestinal diseases

The stimulating role that the gut microbiota exerts on human life and its potential involvement in the pathophysiology of several diseases. The human microbiota exerts important immune, metabolic, trophic, and protective functions that are now interpreted with a model of symbiosis between the host and intestinal microbes. The gut microbiota may be seen as a "dynamic hidden organ" whose structure varies according to many factors including genetic factors, age, nutrition, disease and related treatments. In contrast, the adult microbiota is complex, but relatively stable and similar among individuals. Intestinal colonization begins at birth with amniotic membrane rupture or perhaps even before, according to a very recent experimental hypothesis. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal complaint in adults and children. This chapter introduces the concept of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for the treatment of subjects with the metabolic syndrome. FMT is the major barrier to the large dissemination of the treatment for intestinal diseases.