EiR Blog

    As previous studies suggested a relationship between small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and use of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs, recent studies said that those link not completely right. While previous studies showed complicating results where is European studies mostly indicated positive effect between PPIs and SIBO, but US studies mostly indicated negative effect; which is suggesting dietary factor may influence the outcomes, lack of standard test to diagnose SIBO, and various duration and dose of PPIs use, current studies used patients with chronic acid suppression therapy that would be expected to increase the potential for an abnormal glucose hydrogen breat testing (GBHT), a testing of breath sample for hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) to determine the positivity of SIBO. Reported in the American Journal of Gastroenterology on February 14, 2012, there is no significant differences between once daily vs. twice daily PPI used to positive GHBT based...

  Fecal Matters Transplanting someone else's poo into your body is gaining medical acceptance.   ILLUSTRATION: Hawk Krall 2 Comments        Tags: fecal transplantation, naturopathy, alternative medicine Most teenage boys make money the old-fashioned way. They mow lawns, wash cars or flip burgers. But one 13-year-old in Portland is the envy of his friends for the way he makes his money. He gets $50 for donating his feces. The boy (who, for reasons that will soon become obvious, asked not to be named) is part of a burgeoning business in fecal transplantation: a medical procedure in which—and here’s where you might want to put down that doughnut—donors’ poo is injected into a patient’s body. In Portland, fecal microbial transplantation is being promoted by a naturopath for a wide range of maladies. The treatment isn’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But the procedure—used in experiments since the 1950s—is getting approving articles...

  Silver can kill some cancers as effectively as chemotherapy and with potentially fewer side effects, new research claims. Scientists say that old wives tales about the precious metal being a ‘silver bullet’ to beat the Big C could be true. The metal already has a wide range of medicinal uses and is a common antiseptic, antibiotic and means of purifying water in the third world.  Good news: Silver can kill some cancers as effectively as chemotherapy and with potentially fewer side effects, new research has claimed And British researchers now say that silver compounds are as effective at killing certain cancer cells as a leading chemotherapy drug, but with potentially far fewer side-effects. They compared it to Cisplatin, currently used to treat a wide variety of cancers, but known to have harsh side effects including nausea, vomiting and even kidney damage. Silver is used already in everyday products such...

  Celiac.com 12/27/2011 - Non-controlled studies suggest that Rifaximin may improve celiac disease symptoms in such cases. However, up to now, no controlled trials have been conducted.   A team of researchers used a double-blind clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of rifaximin in relieving gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with poorly responsive celiac disease. They also assessed the effects of rifaximin on lactulose-hydrogen breath tests in those patients. The research team included Matthew S. Chang, Maria T. Minaya, Jianfeng Cheng, Bradley A. Connor, Suzanne K. Lewis, and Peter H. R. Green. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is one of the main reasons that certain people with celiac disease fail to respond well to a gluten-free diet, and why they often suffer persistent symptoms.  To make their assessment, the team designed a single-center, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of patients with biopsy-proven celiac disease and persistent gastrointestinal symptoms despite following a gluten-free diet. For the trial, the...

 I came across this collection of information relating to lactoferrin. I think this has all you'll ever need to know about it:   "Examples of specific bacteria inhibited by lactoferrin include: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Helicobacter pylori, all of which are capable of causing serious illness. While many studies have involved observations of lactoferrin's effects on microbial growth in a laboratory dish or test tube, recent research in Japan has demonstrated that, when administered orally to mice, bovine-derived lactoferrin causes a marked reduction in the proliferation of intestinal bacteria, including several strains of the pathogenic bacterium, Clostridium. Furthermore, when administered to laboratory animals, lactoferrin also decreases the number of bacteria that translocate, or pass through, the cell lining of the intestines. Translocation of bacteria through the intestinal epithelium is a means by which bacteria can gain access to the blood and lymphatic system, and, if they are...

  Lactoferrin is the primary germ-fighting compound naturally occurring in breast milk, acting synergistically with other compounds like monolaurin.  It is a normal part of your body fluids and secretions (saliva, blood, tears, and mucous), providing important protection at points where germs come into contact with you.  Lactoferrin is a potent nutrient for natural balance and helpful immune support.  Hundreds of studies demonstrate the power of lactoferrin to help defend you against Candida, bacteria, and viruses.  It is a key player in the natural defenses that have enabled the survival of the human race.   Early immune system research on lactoferrin focused on its ability to bind iron (it puts iron in a safe cage and transports iron).  It has long been known that free iron impedes immune cell function1 and enables many pathogenic bacteria and Candida to grow.  It is rather disturbing that garbage-quality iron supplements, which rapidly produce free iron in the digestive tract, are...

Newswise — Washington, DC (October 31, 2011) -- Many of the world’s preeminent gastroenterologists have convened this week for the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific Meeting at the Gaylord National Hotel and Conference Center at the National Harbor to review the latest scientific advances in gastrointestinal research, treatment of digestive diseases and clinical practice management. Groundbreaking treatments such as fecal microbiota transplantation for serious gastrointestinal conditions like antibiotic-associated diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease; innovative prevention strategies for a host of GI-related health conditions including hepatitis C and colorectal cancer; new insights on the relationship between adult irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and childhood trauma and the impact lifestyle factors like smoking and alcohol consumption have on digestive health, are among the highlights of this year’s scientific presentations. A press kit with highlights of important new science presented at the meeting is available online at the ACG Web site...

  INTERNATIONAL air passengers would be forced to drink a sachet of probiotic formula before landing in Australia under a proposal by one of the state's leading gastroenterologists aimed at preventing an outbreak of a deadly bug ravaging North America. Thomas Borody, the founder of Sydney's Centre for Digestive Diseases, has likened his radical idea to the way in which incoming aircraft were once sprayed for foreign insects. Professor Borody believes NSW will not be able to avoid an epidemic of the stomach bug Clostridium difficile, the symptoms of which include severe diarrhoea, without concerted action. A hyper-virulent strain of C. difficile has killed 35 people in Ontario, Canada, in just the past four months. In the US, the superbug is estimated to have cost health services $3.2 billion in 12 months. ''We're not ready for it in this country … we're staring at an epidemic,'' Professor Borody told the Sun-Herald....

Overview Glutamine is one type of amino acid, the building blocks that make up proteins. As the most common amino acid in the body, glutamine plays important roles in many organs, including the lining of the digestive tract. Recent evidence has raised the possibility that treatment with glutamine may decrease the symptoms of certain digestive disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, although additional research is needed to confirm these findings. As with all healthe supplements, you should ask your doctor before taking glutamine. Glutamine Levels in IBS Recently, researchers have discovered that people with a particular type of IBS characterized by chronic diarrhea often have low levels of glutamine, reports a study published in the June 2010 issue of the medical journal "Gut." In this study, researchers found that some patients with IBS had lower levels of glutamine than normal, which leads to increases in permeability in the intestinal...

protein isolated from beneficial bacteria found in yogurt and dairy products could offer a new, oral therapeutic option for inflammatory bowel disorders, suggests a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researcher Fang Yan. The study, published May 23 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows that the protein, called p40, was effective as an intervention in animal models of colitis (colon inflammation). The investigators demonstrated that the protein supports intestinal epithelial cell growth and function, and reduces inflammatory responses that can cause intestinal cells to die. Importantly, the investigators showed that oral consumption of p40 by mice in a protective delivery system prevents and treats colitis in multiple models of the disease. Many of the hundreds of bacterial species that live in our gut (known as the “human microbiome”) are helpful to us: they help us digest certain substances, produce vitamins and fight off more dangerous bacteria. But miscommunication...

September 02, 2011|By Tom Avril, Inquirer Staff Writer   Here's some new dietary research, if you have the stomach for it: Your choice of foods may affect the kinds of bugs that live in your intestines. In a study of 98 people and their poop, University of Pennsylvania scientists reported Thursday that a person's long-term diet is connected to what kinds of bacteria live inside the gut. The intestinal tracts of folks who typically ate a high-fat, high-protein diet tended to be dominated by one kind of bacteria, whereas those who favored carbohydrates and vegetables had more of another type. Moreover, a short-term alteration in diet yielded small changes in the person's bacterial community within just 24 hours.     The findings are part of a growing body of research into how the teeming tide of microbes inside the body plays an essential role in human health, and how it...

Salmonella and E. coli account for more than half of all food recalls in the United States; salmonella contributes to an estimated 28 percent of more than 3,000 U.S. deaths related to foodborne illness each year; researchers have discovered and received a patent for a naturally occurring lantibiotic -- a peptide produced by a harmless bacteria -- that could be added to food to kill harmful bacteria like salmonella, E. coli, and listeria.  Researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered and received a patent for a naturally occurring lantibiotic — a peptide produced by a harmless bacteria — that could be added to food to kill harmful bacteria like salmonella, E. coli, and listeria.  The U of M lantibiotic is the first natural preservative found to kill gram-negative bacteria, typically the harmful kind. “It’s aimed at protecting foods from a broad range of bugs that cause disease,” said Dan O’Sullivan,...

Researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Lab have developed technology that may someday cure the common cold, influenza, and other ailments; the researchers tested their drug against fifteen viruses, and found it was effective against all of them — including rhinoviruses that cause the common cold, H1N1 influenza, a stomach virus, a polio virus, dengue fever, and several other types of hemorrhagic fever. Most bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered decades ago. Such drugs, however, are useless against viral infections, including influenza, the common cold and deadly hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola. The drug works by targeting a type of RNA produced only in cells that have been infected by viruses. “In theory, it should work against all viruses,” says Todd Rider, a senior staff scientist in Lincoln Laboratory’s Chemical, Biological, and Nanoscale Technologies Group who invented the new technology. Because the technology is so broad-spectrum, it could potentially...