Disputas-Cand.med Trym Thune Flygel
Flygel is defending their PhD in Health Sciences and will publicly defend the thesis:
“HIV Infected African Children: Gut microbiota in relation to chronic lung disease and long-term antibiotic treatment”
The thesis is available here
The defense will be streamed here
A trial lecture on the given topic will be held at 11:15, at the same location:
“Adolescents growing up with HIV: Outcomes, obstacles, and opportunities for the future”
HIV-associated chronic lung disease is the most prevalent comorbidity among children and adolescents with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV causes a disrupted gut barrier and gut microbial dysbiosis. This can lead to systemic immune activation, thought to contribute to the development of HIV-associated comorbidities. We investigated the composition of gut microbiota and studied the effects of antibiotic treatment on gut microbial composition and lung inflammation among children and adolescents with HIV-associated chronic lung disease in Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Participants with HIV had reduced gut microbial diversity compared to HIV negative, but diversity improved with antiretroviral therapy. The antibiotic azithromycin reduced gut microbial diversity, but these changes did not persist 6 months after cessation of antibiotics. Exhaled nitric oxide, a measure of local inflammation in the lungs, was associated with acute respiratory exacerbations and biomarkers of inflammation.
This work highlights the association between HIV and gut microbial dysbiosis and the effect of long-term antibiotics on lung inflammation and composition of gut microbiota. It can be helpful when designing new studies on gut microbiota and potential microbiota-related targets for interventions in the future.
Primary supervisor
Professor emeritus Trond Flægstad, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Co-supervisor
Associate Professor Jorunn Pauline Cavanagh, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Ph.D. Evgeniya Sovershaeva, Akershus University Hospital and UNN
Researcher Erik Hjerde, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Assessment committee
Professor Marius Trøseid, Institute of Internal Medicine Research, University of Oslo - 1st opponent
Researcher Sabrina Moyo, Clinical Institute 2, University of Bergen - 2nd opponent
Professor Maja-Lisa Løchen, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway - committee chair
Chair of the defense: Professor Inigo Z Martinez, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
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