by John Aitken

“Understanding Crohn’s disease is not rocket science — It is far more complex.” In this presentation, John Aitken from Otakaro Pathways in New Zealand discusses his efforts to reliably culture MAP from human patients. The issue of dormancy is outlined, along with the results of a recent testing study conducted with a 28 subject cohort. A mechanism is proposed for how MAP behaves to cause disease in the human population.

Video Presentation

Q&A Session

Is there anything out there that will destroy biofilm?
Can MAP replicate inside the amoeba?
Won’t the immune system target biofilm right away?
What cells are your L-forms inside?
How do you think the spheroplast divides?
Have you applied the same human assay to cattle with Johne’s disease and controls?
How do autophagy genes tie in to susceptibility to this organism?

Interview with John Aitken

Questions and issues discussed include:

What is your laboratory working on now?
How far away are you from MAP antibiotic susceptibility testing?
When will we have proof that MAP causes Crohn’s disease?
Would you classify MAP as a “superbug?”
Is AMAT treating things other than MAP?
Should patients try to reduce biofilm in addition to treating with AMAT?
Are there any supplements that can disrupt biofilm?
Does MAP survive in dairy products, such as aged cheese?
Is MAP in Crohn’s disease a zoonosis?