Personalized microbiome-based approaches to metabolic syndrome management and prevention

Personalized or precision medicine is a novel clinical approach targeted to the individual patient and based on integration of clinical, genetic, and environmental factors that define a patient uniquely from other individuals featuring similar clinical symptoms. Such a personalized medicine approach is increasingly applied for diagnosis, clinical stratification, and treatment of metabolic syndrome (MetS)-associated risks and diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and their complications. One emerging factor that governs MetS manifestations is the microbiome, the composition, function, growth dynamics, associated metabolite profile and diverse effects of which on host immune and metabolic systems can all significantly affect metabolic homeo-stasis. Interindividual differences in microbiome composition and function, as well as personal variations in microbial-derived products, pave the way towards microbiome-based personalized medicine in treating MetS-related diseases.