Study Significance of Probiotic implantation w/ Hydrotherapy Treatments.... A+ Read

Getting my read on today or whatever you want to call this thing that I do on a constant basis.  Call it what you will; exploring/fact finding/ research /absorbing some knowledge, investigating / studying/ obsessing, hunting. This was such a good read, I posted the entire contents of the article.   Enjoy

The proposed study is anticipated to examine the differences in patient response to probiotics taken orally or through direct implantation to the large intestine using colon hydrotherapy in patients with controlled UC.

New Study to Examine Colon Hydrotherapy's Use for UC

By Melisa Bunderson-Schelvan, PhD, DCT(P)Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that affects individuals of any age group with symptoms that can range from mild to severe. Extreme cases often result in total proctocolectomy with ileostomy in order to prevent colon cancer, which has an increased occurrence in uncontrolled UC patients. There is a significant need for alternative strategies for treating UC, and this need has resulted in the development of a new study to examine the efficacy of a direct method for probiotic delivery on severity and length of remission in UC patients. The goal of the study is to extend the periods of inactive disease and reduce the severity of subsequent flares.
The proposed study is anticipated to examine the differences in patient response to probiotics taken orally or through direct implantation to the large intestine using colon hydrotherapy in patients with controlled UC.
While it is unknown precisely what causes an episode of active UC, research has indicated that an aberrant immune response against the populations of resident microflora may play a role.¹ Accordingly, both anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drug therapies have been used to treat UC. However, these treatments have potentially serious side effects and have been used only with limited success. Alternatively, probiotics have been successfully used both to induce and maintain remission of UC patients in a number of studies with minimal side effects.^2-4Therefore, the use of probiotics in the treatment of UC is arguably one of the most promising therapies due to its demonstrated efficacy and lack of side effects. Nonetheless, there are inherent difficulties to oral administration of a “living" therapy which must reach the large intestine in a viable state. Such factors include known differences in pH, transit time, pancreatic enzyme activity and liver status which may affect the environment within the GI tract of individuals.
These differences likely interfere with the viability of the probiotics once they reach the target area of the large intestine and contribute to the unreliability of patient response associated with their use. Consequently, probiotics are not currently a first line therapy for the treatment of UC.
However, it is possible that bypassing these factors and directly applying the probiotics to the large intestine will result in a more effective treatment as well as improving the consistency of desired outcome in patients.
In addition, the procedure is extremely safe and has the potential for producing results similar to what has been observed using fecal bacteriotherapy.⁵        
Participants in the new study will be assigned to receive a high dosage probiotic or equivalent placebo and instructed to take them orally. Alternatively, patients assigned to receive colon hydrotherapy treatments will receive consecutive probiotic or placebo doses through direct implantation. The goal of the study is to prolong the period between active episodes and to reduce the severity of subsequent flares.
Additional data will be collected in order to correlate patient outcome to markers of gene activity known to be involved with UC, as well as important markers of inflammation.
Colonic irrigation through the use of colon hydrotherapy (also known as “colonics") has found widespread popularity within the alternative medical community, despite considerable skepticism of its value in western medicine. However, recent advances both in technique and equipment available has propelled the use of colon hydrotherapy into western medicine as it is being used more and more frequently as an alternative method for the common laxative preparations required for endoscopy.⁶In fact, the FDA recently classified professional colon hydrotherapy equipment as class II medical devices⁷ and established standards for its use including temperature-controlled water mixing, back-flow prevention valves, pressure and temperature sensors, and built-in chemical sanitizing and water purification units. Consequently, its value in the treatment of other gastrointestinal issues has been suggested.^8,9The process typically involves insertion of a sterile, disposable speculum approximately 3 inches into the rectum followed by a series of temperature/pressure -controlled cycles of filling the large intestine with water and releasing the contents into a closed tube which drains into the sewer system. Generally, there is very little discomfort to the patient. While safety concerns continually surface in popular media, there are very few reported cases of adverse effects. This is significant considering the widespread use of colon hydrotherapy worldwide.
In fact, a study in the United Kingdom estimated that 5,600 procedures are carried out monthly in that country alone and concluded that colonic hydrotherapy “is a safe technique with no clients in our study reporting any adverse effects."¹⁰ The potential for significant improvement in UC patient outcome following direct implantation of probiotics to the large intestine is promising. Validation of the technique would provide a low-cost, highly effective method for improving the quality of life for those suffering from the debilitating effects of UC.

Melisa Bunderson-Schelvan, PhD, DCT(P), is a colon therapist in Missoula. She worked in the world of environmental and biomedical sciences for 10 years following the completion of a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences. She recently became a GPACT-certified colon therapist and opened a colon hydrotherapy practice.


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