Donor Feces Cure Recurrent Diarrheal Infection, Study Shows - Bloomberg

Ummmm lol I still don't know about this.  There's just something that seems wrong about receiving an infusion..... of feces!



Donor Feces Cure Recurrent Diarrheal Infection, Study Shows - Bloomberg:

An infusion of feces through the nose beat the standard antibiotic as a treatment for a recurrent diarrhea-causing infection that kills about 14,000 Americans a year, a study showed.

In a trial among 43 people with recurrent diarrhea caused by a persistent bug called Clostridium difficile, 81 percent of those who received an infusion of feces from a healthy donor after treatment with vancomycin were cured, compared with only 31 percent of those treated with the drug alone, researchers from the University of Amsterdam wrote in an article published yesterday by the New England Journal of Medicine. The study was stopped early because the treatment was clearly working.

The results validate an approach called fecal microbiota transplantation, or FMT, pioneered in 1958 by doctors in Denver, and provides an alternative for the approximately one-in-four patients whose infection isn’t cleared by initial antibiotic treatment. C. difficile is the most common cause of hospital- acquired infectious diarrhea in the U.S. and costs about $1 billion a year to treat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Only patients with the most recalcitrant cases of C. difficile infection are likely to undergo FMT, usually out of desperation after multiple treatment approaches have failed,” Ciaran Kelly, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study. The use of feces may be eliminated by the use of cultured bacteria that make the recipient resistant to C. difficile, Kelly said.

Restoring Bacteria

The procedure probably works by restoring normal gut bacteria, the researchers, led by Els van Nood, wrote in the study, which was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.

Vancomycin is sold as Vancocin by ViroPharma Inc. (VPHM) Vancocin accounted for $289 million in sales in 2011, more than half of Exton, Pennsylvania-based ViroPharma’s revenue.

A federal judge last week dismissed the company’s lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over generic forms of the antibiotic developed by Akorn Inc. (AKRX) and Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI)

Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OPTR)’s Dificid, approved for sale in the U.S. in May 2011, was the first drug cleared for the infection in 25 years.

By Simeon Bennett - Jan 17, 2013 6:28 AM ET

Fecal transplants cure diarrhea!! Wow what will they think of next

Interesting!!! Nuff said about this one.

Fecal transplants cure diarrhea, modulate testosterone levels

Nutella was not used as a placebo control.

by John Timmer - Jan 18 2013, 1:35pm EST

From some perspectives, we humans aren't really so much individuals as we are walking ecosystems—our bodies carry more bacterial cells—with their own genomes and agendas—than the total count of human cells we're composed of. Bacteria cover our skin, get to our food before we have the chance to absorb it, and in many cases stay helpfully out of the way of the immune system.

Given all that, it shouldn't be a surprise that we're finding that bacteria can have significant effects on the human body in ways that go well beyond causing an infection. Two articles that appeared this week drive that home. In one, doctors cured a recurring, diarrhea-causing infection simply by transplanting gut bacteria from a healthy individual. And in the second, the bacterial transplants altered the progression of type 1 (autoimmune) diabetes in mice—by altering the animal's testosterone levels.

Fighting bacteria with bacteria

Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, is a bacteria that tends to cause extended bouts of diarrhea. In about 20 percent of the cases that end up under a doctor's care, it will get into the digestive system and refuse to come back out, creating recurring bouts of illness that don't respond to most antibiotics. At that point, the standard of care is an intensive course of vancomycin, which only works in about 60 percent of patients. With each further recurrence, the rate of success goes down even further.

Anecdotal evidence and case reports had suggested that the problem wasn't so much the presence of C. diff as the fact that it had grown out of balance with the rest of the gut's bacterial ecosystem. To get the gut back into balance, fecal transplants had been tried and, anecdotally at least, they worked. So some doctors in the Netherlands decided to do a clinical trial, comparing a fecal transplant to standard care with vancomycin. The trial was what the researchers called "open label," meaning that people were aware they were having a feeding tube stuffed down their nose to deliver someone else's poop into their body. (A Twitter pundit suggested a Nutella infusion might make for a good placebo control.)

A few dozen healthy volunteers were screened for a huge panel of infectious diseases, and those who came through clean were asked to rush their bodies' first deliveries of the day to the hospital, where it was mixed with saline and had the particulates removed. The results then went into the gastro-nasal tube, given to patients after their original gut flora had been cleared out by a "bowel lavage."

The authors had originally planned to get 40 patients for each group, but the fecal transplants were so successful, they stopped the trial after only 16 patients had received a transplant. Of these, 13 (80 percent) were cured after a single transplant. Two of the remaining three were cured after their second, bringing the success rate up to over 90 percent. In contrast, the success rate of vancomycin treatments was down around 30 percent.

The biggest problem? Enrolling patients. Most people who agreed to participate in the trial only did so after conventional treatments failed several times, "reflecting the reluctance of patients and physicians to choose donor-feces infusion at an early stage."

Bacteria, sex, and immunity

It's easy to view this as a demonstration of the hygiene hypothesis, which posits that all sorts of health issues are linked to exposure to a variety of infectious agents, which the immune system then learns to live in harmony with. But a second paper appeared this week that cautioned against viewing things as being quite that simple.

The paper focused on the progression of type 1 diabetes, which is the product of an autoimmune attack on the insulin-producing cells. There's a special strain of mice, called NOD (for non-obese diabetic) that are prone to developing this disorder. The mice show properties that are very much like the human version of the disease: it's genetically complex, the progression is influenced by environmental factors, and it strikes females more severely than males.

And, unexpectedly, it's influenced by gut bacteria. There was some hint of this, given that other researchers had shown that a systematic exposure to bacterial proteins was able to suppress the development of the disease. But the authors found an unexpected effect when they tested how the disorder progressed in mice raised in germ-free conditions. Rather than accelerating the development of symptoms in all mice, the germ-free conditions accelerated the progression in males, making them (at least in this assay) indistinguishable from females.

So the researchers tried an experiment: they took germ-free NOD mice and did a fecal transplant from adult male animals (mice are naturally coprophagic, so the mice took a lot less convincing than did the humans). When female NOD mice received gut bacteria from males, it actually slowed the disease progression down. The apparent sex difference in autoimmune function was mediated in part by gut bacteria.

Your first thought might be that testosterone in males could create a different environment in the gut, causing it to host a different diversity of species. It's a reasonable guess, but it's wrong. Instead, the researchers found that the transplant of gut bacteria caused a surge in testosterone production by females that lasted for up to 14 weeks. This had no effect on the female's fertility, but it did clearly alter immune function. If the authors injected these mice with a testosterone inhibitor, the diabetes protection went away.

All of which indicates that the other intuitive idea—that gut bacteria influence immune function by interacting directly with immune cells—also can't be right, or at least can't be everything. Clearly, the production of testosterone, by whatever cells may be producing it, plays a key role.

Although the papers argue against some of the simpler views of human health—bacteria are all bad, or not having exposure to pathogens means an overactive immune system—they both argue that viewing our bodies as a complex ecosystem can help provide insight into human health.

New England Journal of medicine, 2013. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1205037 and Science, 2013. DOI:10.1126/science.1233521  (About DOIs).

Fecal transplants cure diarrhea, modulate testosterone levels | Ars Technica:

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Safety Alert!! issued by The FDA - Drug Product for Infectious Diarrhea

FDA ISSUES SAFETY ALERT ON INTESTINOMICINA, DRUG PRODUCT MARKETED AS TREATMENT FOR INFECTIOUS DIARRHEA

WOW This stuff is just death in a bottle. The article doesn't state if the product is an OTC or prescription drug.  I would say that with the chemicals included in this cocktail of toxic shit, that it would be something the doctor must order.  IDK.  For instance, Im allergic to sulfa med and break out into a rash that's so nasty.  pennicillin and all those antibiotics with "cillin" make me rash up too.  I have no clue what Neomycin would do.
I however, have never seen this drug on any drug store shelves.  As they said it is mostly sold in international grocery stores across the US, maybe this is why.  Really, no one knows what stores this stuff may have been sold in.  Just BEWARE of the stuff in the yellow box.

September 22, 2012 (Washington, D.C.) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use Intestinomicina, a drug product manufactured in El Salvador and marketed as a treatment for infectious diarrhea and acute gastrointestinal infections. Consumers who have purchased this product should immediately stop taking it and consult with a health care provider.

Intestinominica contains the prescription drug ingredient, chloramphenicol. Oral forms of chloramphenicol were formally withdrawn from the United States market in July 2012 due to the risk of serious and life threatening injuries.

Intestinomicina is labeled primarily in Spanish and lists the ingredient as “chloramfenicol palmitato,” or chloramphenicol in English, on the label. It can be found in tablet and liquid forms and is manufactured by Laboratorios Lopez. The product has been found in international grocery stores in the United States that feature South and Central American specialty foods and products.

The most serious and life-threatening injury associated with oral chloramphenicol treatment is bone marrow toxicity, which occurs when the body does not produce enough red blood cells, white blood cells, and/or platelets. Certain types of bone marrow toxicity are reversible; however, in rare circumstances it can lead to death. Patients with anemia, low white or red blood cell count, or decreased blood platelets may be at a greater risk of death or serious injury.

The product label also lists antibacterial ingredients including neomycin, an antibiotic often found in topical medications, and sulfonamides, sometimes called sulfa drugs. Neomycin and sulfa drugs have the potential to cause a variety of adverse reactions, ranging from rashes and hives, to severe and life-threatening reactions.

Intestinomicina may also interact with other medications consumers may be taking.

Health care professionals and consumers are encouraged to report any adverse events related to Intestinomicina to FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:

• online at http://www.fda.gov/Medwatch/report.htm;
• by phone at 800-FDA-1088 (800-332-1088); or,
• by returning FDA form 3500, available on the MedWatch “Download Forms” page by mail to the address on the pre-addressed form or by fax at 800-FDA-0178. 

Link:  FDA ISSUES SAFETY ALERT ON INTESTINOMICINA, DRUG PRODUCT MARKETED AS TREATMENT FOR INFECTIOUS DIARRHEA | East County Magazine:

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Health Expert -Jake Wilson States Advantages of Taking Probiotics for: Acute diarrhea & more

The many benefits of taking probiotics regularly.  

Some Article Highlights:

"As a result from taking antibiotics, absorption of fatty acids and glucose are interrupted and osmotic diarrhea ensues along with the immune system’s efforts to flush out contaminants. With probiotics, the chance of suffering through the condition is lessened by 42%

 "the combination of multiple bacterial strains in probiotics have been guaranteed to lessen the duration of diarrhea as well as the frequency of defecation."

"Prolonged antibiotic treatment also makes folks susceptible to Clostridium difficile overgrowth – which is another major cause of digestive problems.
Introduction of Lactobacillus, for example, in the system is more than a welcome alternative to the usual protocols as it not only reduces the chance of antibiotic-associated diarrhea but also enhances the immune system and improves stool consistency"

I would recommend Metagenics for a trusted & high quality probiotic.  

 http://www.metagenics.com/

Probiotics Help Minimize Diarrhea After Eating Or Taking In Antibiotics

Health expert Jake Wilson confirms that intake of probiotic can help lessen the chances of diarrhea after eating or taking some of its known causes.
Over the years, there have been several reported triggers for acute diarrhea – from stress, to food, to medication and underlying diseases. According to recent studies, probiotics can now help minimize the impact antibiotics have on a person’s digestive system.
As we all know, antibiotics are made to combat and destroy microorganisms that have invaded the body. But when they attack, they usually do not care about the casualties. This, in turn affects carbohydrate metabolism since some colonic bacteria are wiped out by the therapy. As a result, absorption of fatty acids and glucose are interrupted and osmotic diarrhea ensues along with the immune system’s efforts to flush out contaminants. With probiotics, the chance of suffering through the condition is lessened by 42%, and it doesn’t even matter what infectious agent might be involved.
Probiotics are actually strains of “good” bacteria that help replace the normal intestinal bacteria wiped out by antibiotics. They come in a variety of forms and can be taken in through a number of measures. Although the studies have not yet analysed conclusively which type of probiotic provides more benefits, the combination of multiple bacterial strains have been guaranteed to lessen the duration of diarrhea as well as the frequency of defecation.
According to Diarrhea After Eating, a health and wellness resource site, 25% to 33% of people treated with antibiotic typically get diarrhea as an adverse effect. And for the most part, it is an expected consequence to the treatment. But for those patients who are very weak and are unable to effectively nourish themselves, losing water and electrolytes because of it may prove fatal. Prolonged antibiotic treatment also makes folks susceptible to Clostridium difficile overgrowth – which is another major cause of digestive problems.
Introduction of Lactobacillus, for example, in the system is more than a welcome alternative to the usual protocols as it not only reduces the chance of antibiotic-associated diarrhea but also enhances the immune system and improves stool consistency. Of course, it does not have any influence over other known triggers of the condition. But at the very least, it is one safe solution people can use.
If you’d like to know more about treatments to diarrhea after eating different kinds of food, visit http://diarrheaaftereatingx.com/.
http://empowerednews.net/probiotics-help-minimize-diarrhea-after-eating-or-taking-in-antibiotics/1823853/