The Microbiome and the Future of Anesthesia

One of the many developing interests in the medical field is the utilization of the human microbiome, which is a complex system of thousands of microorganisms within various body systems, whose population is unique to the individual. Much of this hype is secondary to the work performed under the aptly named Human Microbiome Project (۱). The human microbiome grants an individual, unique qualities ranging from specific inflammatory markers to the development of neurological processes. These qualities are adaptable and respond to numerous types of external and internal stimuli. Examples of these changes can be witnessed when the host is exposed to chronic pain stimuli - neurological, visceral, or otherwise. It has been documented that pain signals alter microbiome metabolites, and the subsequent treatment of that pain further induces changes within the microbiome. It is suggested, then, that the gut microbiome is a dynamic population that is constantly changing within a person, and thus “anybody’s” microbiome can be entirely different from the next.