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Sat, Jul 18, 2026 page4
Breakthrough made in gut health with new database
- By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA
Medical researchers have created a gut microbiome database for almost all age groups of Taiwanese in a breakthrough for public health research, doctors said yesterday
A large-scale study has enabled the tracking of changes in the gut flora of Taiwanese up to 93 years of age, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital doctors said at a news conference in Taipei
The micro-organisms living in the human intestinal tract have a huge impact on digestive, metabolic and cardiovascular health, and breaking them down into quantifiable numbers can yield legible medical indicators, they said
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital deputy superintendent Chiu Cheng-hsun, second left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday
The research used data gathered from 1,005 people, the doctors said
Microbiota Therapy Center deputy director Yeh Yuan-ming (葉元鳴) said the study revealed that infancy is a key stage in gut microbiota development
Bifidobacteria that help regulate the immune system are the predominant type of gut flora in infants, while fiber-digesting and anti-inflammatory microbes mature with their hosts, he said
Researchers are experimenting with building artificial intelligence-based models that gauge a person’s age by the composition of their gut microbiome, with the current version being accurate to 11.56 years, he said
A fully developed model could help doctors identify the factors that cause a person’s microbiome age to differ from their chronological age, which could then be used to diagnose diseases and inform health management strategies, Yeh said
Such discussions remain theoretical, as the analytical model is incomplete and would still need corroboration from clinical data and trials before it can be used, he added
Hospital deputy superintendent Chiu Cheng-hsun (邱政洵) said the research is highly significant for Taiwan, where doctors have had to rely on studies conducted in the US and Europe to guide their medical strategies
Microbiota Therapy Center director Lee Po-hsien (李柏賢) said the hospital has performed more than 430 fecal microbiota transplants and achieved a 91 percent single-procedure success rate in treating clostridioides difficile infections
The center’s clinical research is the key factor behind the effectiveness of its medical procedures, he said
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