The therapeutic potential of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is greatly proved worldwide in the recent years. The use of FMT is now an accepted treatment modality and effective standard of care for some patients owing to its success in treating recurrent Clostridium Difficile Infection (rCDI). However, it is still evolving and longer term follow-up data regarding safety are required. Post-FMT serious adverse events (SAEs) have been varied between studies, however have included significant morbidity necessitating hospital admission and mortality in the follow-up period. The follow-up of FMT recipients should be long enough to completely establish efficacy/adverse events. Furthermore, it is recommended that FMT should be offered with caution to immunosuppressed patients, in whom FMT appears efficacious without significant additional adverse effects. In the wake of COVID-19 situation, stringent policies in screening the FMT donors have to be put forth to ensure patient safety. There is a need for high-quality, large, prospective, randomized controlled trials and long-term follow-up investigating screened donors and recipients to evaluate the long term safety and the risk–benefit profile of this promising therapy.

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Advancements in the field of molecular biology have stimulated the interest of the scientists and clincians worldwide who believe that genetic manipulation can be a potential cure for cancer. Gene therapy is one such therapy that is significantly applied in human cancer which involves transferring genetic material into a host cell via a viral or non-viral vector, immunotherapy or by manipulation of the tumor microenvironment to reduce angiogenesis.It is not only being considered as a therapeutic strategy to treat cancer but also as a medium to counter the post radiation side-effects. More recently it has been used as a means to prevent the progression of potentially malignant diseases into cancer thereby proving to be a potential candidate for improving survival rates in cancer patients. This review aims to provide insight into the field of cancer gene therapy as applicable to oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral premalignancies that may have far reaching effects on the way a cancer patient is managed.

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are highly prevalent and variable in nature, and are accountable for considerable morbidity and mortality. Acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) are the third leading cause of death worldwide and the most common cause of antibiotic prescription among adults. It is common knowledge that inappropriate or overuse of antibiotics for RTIs is a crucial contributing factor with respect to the emergence of microbes that are resistant to the drug’s effects. Overuse of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance is a global issue that is becoming a serious concern. There is a growing need for novel approaches and adjuvant therapies for such infections, particularly in the setting of worsening antibacterial resistance. The strategy of supporting the immune system of the host in advance of infection exposure would decrease the number and severity of infections and thus decrease antibiotic use. Micronutrients have varied roles throughout every stage of the immune system and help in strengthening and maintaining immune function. Deficiencies of micronutrients are associated with varied health outcomes and can impact both innate and adaptive immunity profoundly, causing immunosuppression and thus leading to increased susceptibility to infections. Moreover, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the factors that help the proper functioning of the immune system have garnered much interest and hence the maintenance of an optimal status of certain micronutrients could be particularly beneficial.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a subset of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which, apart from excess fat in the liver, may be characterised by some level of inflammatory infiltration and fibrogenesis, occasionally progressing to liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The objective of the current review is to elucidate the rising prevalence, the role of microbiome and genetics in pathogenesis, diagnostic challenges, and novel treatment alternatives for NASH. Newer diagnostic techniques are being developed since using liver biopsy in a larger population is not a reasonable option and is primarily restricted to clinical research, at least in developing countries. Besides these technical challenges, another important factor leading to deviation from guideline practice is the lack of health insurance coverage in countries like India. It leads to reluctance on the part of physicians and patients to delay required tests to curb out-ofpocket expenditure. There is no cure for NASH, with liver transplantation remaining the last option for those who progress to end-stage liver disease (ESLD) or are detected with early-stage HCC. Thus, lifestyle modification remains the only viable option for many, but compliance and long-term adherence remain major challenges. In obese individuals, bariatric surgery and weight reduction have shown favourable results. In patients with less severe obesity, endoscopic bariatric metabolic therapies (EBMT) are rapidly emerging as less invasive therapies. However, access and acceptability remain poor for these weight reduction methods. Therefore, intense research is being conducted for potential newer drug classes with several agents currently in phase II or III of clinical development. Some of these have demonstrated promising results, such as a reduction in hepatic fat content, and attenuation of fibrosis with an acceptable tolerability profile in phase II studies. The developments in the management of NASH have been fairly encouraging. Further well-designed long-term prospective studies should be undertaken to generate evidence with definitive results.