User talk:Bfpage/sandbox

There are trillions of microbes in the human microbiome, although the entire microbiome only accounts for about for 1-3% total body mass, with some weight-estimates ranging as high as 3 pounds (approximately 48 ounces or 1,400 grams). Research into the role that microbiota in the gut might play in the human immune system started in the late 1990s. The microbiome of the gut (the gut flora) has been characterised as a "forgotten organ", and the possibility has been raised that "the mammalian immune system, which seems to be designed to control microorganisms, is in fact controlled by microorganisms". The human microbiome may have a role in autoimmune diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and perhaps some cancers. A poor mix of microbes (that is, a dysbiosis) in the gut may also aggravate common obesity. Since some of the microbes in the human body can modify the regulation of some neurotransmitters, it may be possible to use certain microorganisms to supplement treatments for depression, bipolar disorder and other stress-related psychiatric disorders. Microbiota disruption has also been suggested to be involved in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders.