Interesting post, thanks for sharing. Although I am skeptical for some reasons I note below, the potential upside to such a cheap treatment for a very unpleasant disease seems highly worth pursuing. For context, I’m viewing this post as an academic biologist who develops methods for microbiome data analysis and collaborates with some clinicians, though my background is ecology and evolution rather than medicine.
While reading the post, I struck by how the referenced evidence for the author’s (Martin Laurence) hypothesis is entirely from citations to his own papers and a short reply to a journal article (I don’t think peer reviewed) about anecdotal observations from six IBD patients. The author’s papers referenced take the form of reviews and argued hypotheses from research done by others, rather than original experiments, and seem to be about spondyloarthritis, prostate cancer and MS rather than Crohn’s directly. Given that IBD and Crohns disease are popular research topics in biomedical research and specifically in microbiome research, I found this lack of reference to others in support of the main hypothesis suspicious, and it made me think the hypothesis is controversial or not well subscribed to in the field. That is not to say it is unfounded, but I would have expected some acknowledgement if this is an “out there” view and discussion of why that included some references to the mainstream view and coverage of the controversy. I would also expect that building further evidence that would convince other researchers and mainstream funders in the field would be the next step, rather than crowd funding a clinical trial, and so would have liked to see an explanation for why this strategy isn’t being taken.
I also felt that the reasons under Neglectedness and Funding Gap didn’t explain why other biomedical researchers aren’t pursuing this, or why the author isn’t soliciting funds through standard biomedical funding agencies. The lack of incentive for private drug companies mentioned does not explain why standard agencies and organizations aren’t funding it. It is true that fungi are often neglected over bacteria in microbiome studies, but if there is good evidence that fungi are playing a role in Crohn’s and they’ve been historically neglected, they I would expect researchers to be jumping on this hypothesis, and for standard biomedical funders to be glad to fund it, unless for reasons mentioned above.
After reading the FAQ on the author’s website, I suspect the author is forgoing the mainstream route and soliciting small private donations because he is operating outside academia and lacks academic or hospital collaborators who can apply for the needed grants. But without these collaborators, I don’t see how the proposed clinical trial could be orchestrated. This is not to say that I think the author is wrong in pursuing this work or not credible, but I feel that ignoring these issues makes the post seem less credible than it might otherwise be.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Several studies are currently being run with academics, but it would not be fair for me leak their results in this forum. These results will be published in due time. Replicating Samuel et al 2010 is quite expensive, and is currently beyond my means (to fund it personally).
As you mentioned, the standard way to study this is to first replicate Kellermayer et al 2012, and Kanda et al 2002 in Crohn’s, and Richard 2018. You can see the full list of projects which are running right now at the bottom of this page: https://www.malassezia.org/how-can-i-help
Once these results are published, I think it will be possible to apply for NIH funding to replicate Samuel et al 2010. This will delay replication by 1-2 years. I am sensitive to Crohn’s patients who will suffer in the interim, which is why I wanted to replicate Samuel et al 2010 earlier (if possible).
I came very close to starting the replication of Samuel et al 2010 with funding from private sources, but a key philanthropist dropped out at the last minute. I have a detailed project plan from credible researchers who are willing to run this study. They told me they could not get institutional funding until Kellermayer et al 2012, and Kanda et al 2002 in Crohn’s are replicated. I think they told me the truth, but perhaps not.
If you think we can get NIH funding with the current level of evidence, then by all means direct me to a Crohn’s research group who is willing/capable of going this route now.
Interesting post, thanks for sharing. Although I am skeptical for some reasons I note below, the potential upside to such a cheap treatment for a very unpleasant disease seems highly worth pursuing. For context, I’m viewing this post as an academic biologist who develops methods for microbiome data analysis and collaborates with some clinicians, though my background is ecology and evolution rather than medicine.
While reading the post, I struck by how the referenced evidence for the author’s (Martin Laurence) hypothesis is entirely from citations to his own papers and a short reply to a journal article (I don’t think peer reviewed) about anecdotal observations from six IBD patients. The author’s papers referenced take the form of reviews and argued hypotheses from research done by others, rather than original experiments, and seem to be about spondyloarthritis, prostate cancer and MS rather than Crohn’s directly. Given that IBD and Crohns disease are popular research topics in biomedical research and specifically in microbiome research, I found this lack of reference to others in support of the main hypothesis suspicious, and it made me think the hypothesis is controversial or not well subscribed to in the field. That is not to say it is unfounded, but I would have expected some acknowledgement if this is an “out there” view and discussion of why that included some references to the mainstream view and coverage of the controversy. I would also expect that building further evidence that would convince other researchers and mainstream funders in the field would be the next step, rather than crowd funding a clinical trial, and so would have liked to see an explanation for why this strategy isn’t being taken.
I also felt that the reasons under Neglectedness and Funding Gap didn’t explain why other biomedical researchers aren’t pursuing this, or why the author isn’t soliciting funds through standard biomedical funding agencies. The lack of incentive for private drug companies mentioned does not explain why standard agencies and organizations aren’t funding it. It is true that fungi are often neglected over bacteria in microbiome studies, but if there is good evidence that fungi are playing a role in Crohn’s and they’ve been historically neglected, they I would expect researchers to be jumping on this hypothesis, and for standard biomedical funders to be glad to fund it, unless for reasons mentioned above.
After reading the FAQ on the author’s website, I suspect the author is forgoing the mainstream route and soliciting small private donations because he is operating outside academia and lacks academic or hospital collaborators who can apply for the needed grants. But without these collaborators, I don’t see how the proposed clinical trial could be orchestrated. This is not to say that I think the author is wrong in pursuing this work or not credible, but I feel that ignoring these issues makes the post seem less credible than it might otherwise be.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Several studies are currently being run with academics, but it would not be fair for me leak their results in this forum. These results will be published in due time. Replicating Samuel et al 2010 is quite expensive, and is currently beyond my means (to fund it personally).
As you mentioned, the standard way to study this is to first replicate Kellermayer et al 2012, and Kanda et al 2002 in Crohn’s, and Richard 2018. You can see the full list of projects which are running right now at the bottom of this page: https://www.malassezia.org/how-can-i-help
Once these results are published, I think it will be possible to apply for NIH funding to replicate Samuel et al 2010. This will delay replication by 1-2 years. I am sensitive to Crohn’s patients who will suffer in the interim, which is why I wanted to replicate Samuel et al 2010 earlier (if possible).
I came very close to starting the replication of Samuel et al 2010 with funding from private sources, but a key philanthropist dropped out at the last minute. I have a detailed project plan from credible researchers who are willing to run this study. They told me they could not get institutional funding until Kellermayer et al 2012, and Kanda et al 2002 in Crohn’s are replicated. I think they told me the truth, but perhaps not.
If you think we can get NIH funding with the current level of evidence, then by all means direct me to a Crohn’s research group who is willing/capable of going this route now.