Page 49 - Rappaport Institute Magazine 2024

PHYSIOLOGY, BIOPHYSICS AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY
46-47
Investigating the Gut Microbiome to Better Treat Chronic Pain
Pain is a universal experience shared by all human beings and many living creatures. Chronic pain is a common medical disorder, challenging to diagnose and treat. Our lab focuses on the role of the gut microbiome in the development of chronic pain. We aim to better understand how gut bacteria interact with the human immune- and nervous systems, to play a role in the development of pain. Using state-of-the-art genomic, metabolomic, psychophysics and bioinformatic methods, our team has demonstrated a key role for certain gut bacteria in the development of fibromyalgia. We aim to explore gut microbiome-based diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions.
Selected Publications
ˆ Cai W, Haddad M, Haddad R, Kesten I, Hoffman T, Laan R, Wong C, Brown N,
Tansley S, Lister KC, Hooshmandi M, Wang F, Sharif B, Westfall S, Sahar T, Clayton C, Wu N, Zhang J, Bar-Yoseph H, Pitashny M, Mogil JS, Prager-Khoutorsky M, Séguéla
P, King IL, Koninck YD, Brereton NJB, Gonzalez E, Shir Y, Minerbi A, Khoutorsky
A. Gut microbiota promotes pain in fibromyalgia. 2023:2023.10.24.563794. doi:10.1101/2023.10.24.563794.
ˆ Minerbi A, Gonzalez E, Brereton NJB, Fitzcharles MA, Chévalier S, Shir Y. Altered serum bile-acid profile in fibromyalgia is associated with specific gut microbiome changes and symptom severity. Pain, 164(2):e66-e76:2023
ˆ Minerbi A, Shen S. Gut Microbiome in anesthesiology and pain medicine: a narrative review. Anesthesiology, 137(1):93-108:2022.
Minerbi A, Brereton NJB, Anjarkuchian A, Moyen A, Gonzalez E, Fitzcharles MA, Shir Y, Chévalier S. Dietary Intake Is Unlikely to Explain Symptom Severity and Syndrome-Specific Microbiome Alterations in a Cohort of Women with Fibromyalgia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19(6), 3254:2022.
ˆ Minerbi A, Gonzalez E, Brereton NJB, Anjarkouchian A, Dewar K, Fitzcharles MA, Chevalier S, Shir Y. Altered microbiome composition in individuals with fibromyalgia. Pain, 160(11):2589-2602: 2019
Grants and Awards
ˆ 2023: Physician Scientist Research Program, Israel Science Foundation: “Development of gut-microbiome-based tools for the diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia”
ˆ 2022: Artificial Intelligence And Healthcare - Bilateral Research Cooperation Program MOST-FRQS – “Artificial Intelligence Algorithms as a Diagnostic Aid in Individuals with Chronic Pain”
ˆ 2022: Pilot Study Grants - Ministry of Health - Chief Scientist Office – “Fecal Microbiome Transplantation to Reverse Symptoms of Fibromyalgia in Humans – A Pilot Study”
ˆ 2021: Weston Family Microbiome Initiative Catalyst Grant – “Reversing symptoms of fibromyalgia by targeting gut microbiome”
Collaborators
Prof. Yoram Shir – Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Prof. Arkady Khoutorsky – McGill University, Montreal Quebec, Canada
Prof. Dorit Pud – Haifa University
minerbi@technion.ac.il
Amir Minerbi Lab
Amir Minerbi, MD, PhD Senior Lecturer of Neuroscience
MD, 2009 – Technion, Israel PhD, 2009 – Technion, Israel
The complex ecosystem of the human gut microbiome