Preliminary Results Metabolomic Profiling Study, Irene Gabashvili, Ph.D.

"Let those who never smelled bad cast the first stone"

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MEBO’s Scientific Director has posted in her Aurametrix website, the preliminary results of the MEBO Metabolomic Profiling Study, noted below.

NCT02683876-Active, not recruiting
Exploratory Study of Relationships Between
Malodor and Urine Metabolomics
Canada and United States 2016

The quoted text below is a summary of the preliminary results of the above mentioned MEBO Metabolomic Profiling Study. We would like to thank the 15 participants of this study for their contribution to this effort by providing urine samples and completing a survey. This questionnaire can be linked to from Aurametrix, and has also been addressed to a general population, opening the survey for others in hopes that perhaps it could help us in this study as well. Therefore, anyone wishing to fill out this survey may do so.

Analysis of our metabolism is crucial to comprehending the responses of our genes and microbes to the stresses of daily life, and to elucidating the causes and consequences of health and disease. 

And measurement of urinary metabolites - small molecules produced from foods, drinks, drugs, environmental contaminants, bodily waste products and bacterial by-products - 
is key to the analysis.

We applied this approach to an elusive condition that has always evaded diagnosis: socially and psychologically distressing odors that occur without a known or apparent cause.

The figure below summarizes preliminary results of metabolic profiling performed by Dr. Wishart's research group, using direct Flow Injection Mass Spectrometry (DI-MS). 

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The first part of our study explored 95 metabolites: biogenic amines (odorous by-products of microbes predicting certain health conditions), amino acids (for diagnostics of endocrine disorders, liver diseases, muscle diseases, neoplastic diseases, neurological disorders, nutritional disturbances, renal failure, and burns), acylcarnitines (biomarkers of fatty acid oxidation disorders and several organic acidurias), phospholipids and sphingolipids (useful in evaluating some enzyme deficiencies) in samples of 15 participants. 

No measurement differed from normal population values - individuals that never complained of any unusual odor problems or other notable medical issues) - even for the "smelliest" compounds such as Putrescine (rotting fish smell) or Spermidine (sperm-like or bleach-like smell). Moreover, average values for these metabolites were actually lower in our cohort, as were values for selected aminoacids, although some aminoacids, biogenic amines and lipids were slightly higher than averages for normal population. So there were definitely significant albeit subtle differences in metabolism between the control and test group, as well as among the participants. 

We combined results for all 95 metabolites using a uniform standard scale. A statistical technique, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), uncovered combinations that best differentiated the participants.  The figure shows that there are at least two or three different types of profiles. Is there something in common between participants in each group? 

Our questionnaire shows that there is, and it is not the diet!

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The most significant differences between participants clustered into the groups shown in the figure are their environmental sensitivities  (hence their metabolism) and their symptoms...

http://www.aurametrix.com/blog/let-those-who-never-smelled-bad-cast-the-first-stone
This blog post in Aurametrix has also been addressed to a general population, opening the survey for others in hopes that perhaps it could help us in this study as well.

We thank Irene Gabashvili, Ph.D., for her continuous pro bono professional services of countless hours of work to help sustain and move forward the MEBO Mission.

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María de la Torre
Founder and Executive Director

A Public Charity
maria.delatorre@meboresearch.com
www.meboresearch.org
www.mebo.com.br/
MEBO's Blog (English)
El Blog de MEBO (español)
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