Internal body bacteria 'fights' may lead to chronic diseases

A study conducted by researchers at Georgia State University suggests that a "fight" between bacteria normally living in the intestines and the immune system, kicked off by another type of bacteria, may be linked to two types of chronic diseases.

The tussle between the two internal bacterias continues after the instigator bacteria have been cleared by the body, the study said.

That fight can result in metabolic syndrome, an important factor in obesity, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), professor of biology at the GSU Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection Andrew Gewirtz said.

"The implication at present is that it is very important to control the early environment," Gewirtz said, "we need to examine how this can be achieved