This is the first study using detailed retrospective medication usage data from electronic health records to systematically assess the long-term effects of medication usage on the gut microbiome. We identified carryover and additive effects on the gut microbiome for a range of antibiotics and non-antibiotic medications, such as benzodiazepine derivatives, antidepressants and glucocorticoids, among others. These findings highlight a collateral effect of diverse drug classes on the gut microbiome, which warrants accounting for long-term medication usage history when assessing disease-microbiome associations.

Metformin lowers blood glucose by inhibiting Rap1 in ventromedial hypothalamic neurons that regulate glucose balance.

A study reveals a gut–brain sensory pathway through which the microbial component flagellin activates neuropod cells in the colon to signal the brain and reduce feeding in mice.

Researchers have shown that acute stress can disrupt gut microbial activity, lowering protective fatty acids that maintain intestinal and brain barrier integrity. The findings offer new insight into how short-term stress affects the body’s gut-brain communication system.

Many bacteria carry phage genome(s) in their chromosome (i.e., prophage), and this intertwines the fitness of the bacterium and the phage. Most Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains carry filamentous phages ...