• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Researchers awarded Department of Defense grant to study the role of gut microbiomes to improve outcomes in dystonia

by
July 2, 2024
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Mohammad Moshahid Khan, PhD, principal investigator and associate professor in the Department of Neurology in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was recently awarded a $308,000 grant from the Department of Defense for a study that will investigate the role of the gut microbiome in dystonia, a movement disorder of abnormal postures and involuntary twisting or repetitive movements, to improve neurobehavioral outcomes. Jianfeng Xiao, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Neurology, is the co-investigator of the study.

Mohammad Moshahid Khan, PhD

Credit: UT Health Science Center

Mohammad Moshahid Khan, PhD, principal investigator and associate professor in the Department of Neurology in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was recently awarded a $308,000 grant from the Department of Defense for a study that will investigate the role of the gut microbiome in dystonia, a movement disorder of abnormal postures and involuntary twisting or repetitive movements, to improve neurobehavioral outcomes. Jianfeng Xiao, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Neurology, is the co-investigator of the study.

Although the genetic and environmental causes of dystonia are difficult to determine, dystonia can be developed by factors including traumatic brain injuries, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, use of chronic antipsychotic therapy, and other conditions. The disorder impacts many Americans, and military personnel and veterans often develop dystonia.

Considering gut microbiomes can influence brain behavior and development, and microbiomes can be modified, this study seeks to give a new perspective into the cause of the disease and discover how the gut microbiome may be able to modulate neurobehavioral dysfunction.

“There is no cure for dystonia. Some treatments are available, but they have a lot of side effects. We need to develop disease-modifying therapies that would stop the progression of dystonia symptoms, treat it, or delay the disease’s progression,” Dr. Khan said. “Most of the dystonia research focuses on the genetic and neurological aspects, and we thought there may be another factor that is non-genetic and can be modified, and that’s how we came up with the gut microbiome.”

To conduct this study, the team will examine the gut microbiome in a rodent model of dystonia by identifying specific bacteria or fungi that causes gastrointestinal abnormalities in the model and test the potential use of probiotics in decreasing behavioral deficits. The team aims to find the effectiveness of probiotics in treating neurobehavioral dysfunction in the rodent, in hopes this will lead to developing microbiome-based therapies for humans.

“The major goal is to develop a microbiome-based therapy for the treatment and prevention of dystonia. The mouse model we are using has a mutation that is clinically relevant to a human with dystonia,” Dr. Khan said. “The study opens up an entirely new direction on dystonia research and will provide a significant positive impact by defining the role of gut microbiome in the dystonia pathobiology and testing the impact of the microbiome approach in mitigating the neurobehavioral function in the dystonia.”



Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

KIF13B Protein Regulates Liver Metabolism, Combats Fatty Liver

September 3, 2025

Tech-Enhanced Nursing Strategies Boost TB Medication Adherence

September 3, 2025

Dad’s Childhood Exposure to Passive Smoking May Impact Kids’ Lung Health for Life

September 3, 2025

Diabetes Therapy Quality of Life Tied to Mortality

September 3, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • Needlestick Injury Rates in Nurses and Students in Pakistan

    296 shares
    Share 118 Tweet 74
  • Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    154 shares
    Share 62 Tweet 39
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    143 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    117 shares
    Share 47 Tweet 29

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Revolutionizing Art Education with Multimodal Deep Learning

KIF13B Protein Regulates Liver Metabolism, Combats Fatty Liver

Transforming Date Palm Waste into Probiotic Yogurt Enhancements

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.