ALBA Project

The increase in the prevalence of obesity worldwide leads to a significant increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease. In routine clinical practice, there are no biomarkers available to provide accurate and personalized information on cardiovascular risk. These biomarkers would make it possible to prevent the occurrence of potentially fatal cardiovascular events by means of nutritional, lifestyle or pharmacological interventions.

Obesity leads to significant alterations in the intestinal microbiota, and this dysbiosis (or alteration of the microbiota) results in increased production of molecules of bacterial origin, such as trimethylamine (TMA), which is metabolized in the liver to TMAO, a potent proatherogenic agent strongly associated with cardiovascular risk, and whose application as a risk marker has not yet been transferred to the clinic. 

Parallel to the obesity pandemic, the increasing dietary exposure to micro- and nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) causes a disruption of metabolism and microbiota with significant obesogenic and pathogenic effects. As recognized by the main international agencies related to health and food (WHO and FAO), there are hardly any rigorous studies or standardized technologies to assess the degree of systemic exposure to MPs/NPs, nor the possible interaction between MPs/NPs, the microbiome and the cardiometabolic health status of the population. 

Funder: