Gut Bacteria Cocktail May End Need for Fecal Transplants 183
sciencehabit writes "A tonic of gut microbes may be the secret recipe for treating a common hospital scourge. Researchers have pinpointed the exact mix of microbes required to cure mice of chronic infection by Clostridium difficile. The hard-to-treat bacterium infects alomst 336,000 in the US each year and causes bloating, pain, & diarrhea. A similar bacterial cocktail may be able to replace the current controversial treatment involving the intake of a healthy person's fecal matter to restore the right balance of microbes in the gut."
Re:Yogurt does the same thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Yogurt is basically the same process, hell they have successfully monetized bottled water.
Do not underestimate the laziness of the average American.
Re:Yogurt does the same thing (Score:3, Insightful)
Eating yogurt is the same as "intake of a healthy person's fecal matter?"
Source, please.
Re: Warning: paranoia may cloud sensibilities (Score:5, Insightful)
Kefir is even better, but hard to monetize so it's less common. Get some, keep a large jar and replenish with milk as required.
It didn't cross your mind that if you were actually correct, the researcher - who is presumably at least reasonably competent inside the field in which they are working - would have been culturing the microbes from yoghurt or kefir?
Right now, the evidence provided means the 'yoghurt or kefir are just as good' claim carries as much weight as the claim that homeopathic vaccines are as effective as real vaccines.
Re:Eat Sh*t Sucka (Score:5, Insightful)
If I'm unfortunate to get this illness, please don't tell me the cure.
If you are unfortunate enough to get this illness you will welcome the cure with open bowels.
Re:If they do this to a politician... (Score:4, Insightful)
You think politicians say stupid things because they're stupid? No, they say stupid things because that's what the voters want to hear. So who's stupid in this scenario?
Re: Warning: paranoia may cloud sensibilities (Score:3, Insightful)
This research doesn't show the only way or all the ways your gut flora can be restored after (treating) a C dif infection. It describes one way and proves its claim without ruling any other treatments out. Put another way, this research does not disprove the effectiveness of any rememdies not explicitly covered and should not be assumed to evaluate their individual effectivenesses.
The key idea is intentionally augmenting the gut's flora with probiotics so that restoration of beneficial native flora can occur more rapidly. The paper points to specific strains which are required to attain the effectiveness of a fecal transfer. L bacillus and acidophilus may not cure your C dif infection or instantly restore homeostasis, but they'll significantly help restore your ability to properly receive nutrients from digested food. While more palatable than eating poo, they're simply not as efffective because they don't represent all the necessary flora. They are, however, still effective and recommended as treatments.
While theirs was not an accurate or well supported claim, please recognize that the comment you responded to contained more truth than your dissmissively out of hand rebuttal. Also, don't try to appeal to authority when there is evidence against your assertion that probiotics are equivalent to homeopathy.
Re: Warning: paranoia may cloud sensibilities (Score:5, Insightful)
Eating yogurt is not a homeopathic remedy. Look up what homeopathic means.
Eating yogurt is a simple treatment, and as the grandparent's quote indicates it is significantly effective at reducing the incidence of diarrhea in cases of gut flora loss (due to antibiotics usually). However, it is significantly less effective when the problem is specifically c.difficile overgrowth.
So if you're taking antibiotics, get a probiotic yogurt, it is likely to help. If you do end up with c. diff, you may need another type of treatment.
Re:Yogurt does the same thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Do not underestimate the laziness of the average American.
A common and largely incorrect sentiment suggesting you just have never bothered to think it through all the way. The brilliant realization that drove bottled water out of the original, much smaller Evian market (remember all those hipster T-shirts from the 90's that spelled it backward?) and into the world of Dasani (which is merely the filtered water used by your local Coca-Cola bottler) was that water is widely available for free, but cold water that you can carry with you was not. You could, of course, choose to carry your own water bottle, which many people do when going to the gym or other predictable activity, but on a long journey this is not a good solution. You might choose to carry a cooler and fill it with ice and a few bottles of cold water that you would refill at leisure, if traveling by car, but even then that's a lot of work (and if you have to replenish ice, a bag is likely to cost more than several liters of water, especially if you get the cheaper brands). If traveling by air, bottles of chilled water are nearly the only method to achieve this goal (due to the restrictions on liquids). And if you're flying somewhere, why worry about the tiny additional cost of a couple of bottles of water compared to the hundreds of dollars you spent to get there?
The same logic explains why a two liter bottle of soda at room temperature sells for the same price as a chilled half-liter bottle of the same stuff in a gas station. You are mostly paying for portability (i.e., it fits in your car cupholder) and chilling, not the liquid inside. You can get a better deal by buying fountain drinks, but they go flat faster and have a much higher risk of spill than a bottle with a screw-on cap.