Supplement Research(Page 4)Pinpointing the Cause of ColicColic is defined as unexplained and severe crying in an otherwise healthy newborn. It usually occurs in infants three months old or younger and lasts for more than three hours daily for at least three days a week.“Colic is a very common condition. It affects about 15 percent of normal, healthy infants. More than half of infanticides fall into the age category of colic. We may be able to prevent deaths if we can find a treatment,” Rhoads said. Right now, pediatricians prescribe special hypoallergenic infant formula to try and treat colic, but none of it has been proven in studies to be effective in treating the condition. “During our study, we also found that the babies that didn’t have colic had more types of bacteria in their intestines. The presence of more bacteria may indicate that specific bacterial species (phylotypes) are beneficial to humans,” Rhoads said. The study was funded by the Gerber Foundation. A larger study is needed to examine Klebsiella and the use of a probiotic, which is a dietary supplement made up of good bacteria, to control the gut inflammation. Before that can begin, Rhoads said an adult trial will take place to examine the safety of the probiotics in healthy adults. For that study, UT researchers are recruiting 40 adult patients. Other research personnel at the UT Medical School included Nicole Fatheree, research coordinator; Yuying Liu, Ph.D., researcher; Joseph Lucke, Ph.D. and Jon E. Tyson, M.D., professor of pediatrics and obstetrics and Michelle Bain Distinguished Professor in Medicine and Public Health. ### The most comprehensive academic health center in the Southwest, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is home to six schools devoted to medicine, nursing, public health, dentistry, health informatics and graduate studies in biomedical science. In addition to the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM), other components are the UT Harris County Psychiatric Center and the Mental Sciences Institute.The UT Health Science Center at Houston, founded in 1972, is part of the University of Texas System. It is a state-supported health institution whose state funding is supplemented by competitive research grants, patient fees and private philanthropy. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery© The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract 200910.1007/s11605-009-0891-x2008 SSAT Plenery PresentationProbiotics Improve Outcomes After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Trial Gavitt A. Woodard1, Betsy Encarnacion1, John R. Downey1, Joseph Peraza1, Karen Chong1, Tina Hernandez-Boussard1 and John M. Morton1, 2 Contact Information(1) Department of Surgery, Surgery Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (SCORE), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA(2) 300 Pasteur Drive, H3680, Stanford, CA 94025, USA Contact Information John M. MortonEmail: morton@stanford.edu Received: 10 August 2008 Accepted: 29 March 2009 Published online: 18 April 2009AbstractIntroduction Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RNYGB) surgery offers an effective and enduring treatment for morbid obesity. Gastric bypass may alter gastrointestinal (GI) flora possibly resulting in bacterial overgrowth and dysmotility. Our hypothesis was that daily use of probiotics would improve GI outcomes after RNYGB.Methods Forty-four patients undergoing RNYGB were randomized to either a probiotic or control group; 2.4 billion colonies of Lactobacillus were administered daily postoperatively to the probiotic group. The outcomes of H2 levels indicative of bacterial overgrowth, GI-related quality of life (GIQoL), serologies, and weight loss were measured preoperatively and at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Categorical variables were analyzed by χ 2 test and continuous variables were analyzed by t test with a p < 0.05 for significance.Results At 6 months, a statistically significant reduction in bacterial overgrowth was achieved in the probiotic group with a preoperative to postoperative change of sum H 2 part per million (probiotics = −32.13, controls = 0.80). Surprisingly, the probiotic group attained significantly greater percent excess weight loss than that of control group at 6 weeks (controls = 25.5%, probiotic = 29.9%) and 3 months (38.55%, 47.68%). This trend also continued but was not significant at 6 months (60.78%, 67.15%). The probiotic group had significantly higher postoperative vitamin B12 levels than the control group. Both probiotic and control groups significantly improved their GIQoL.Conclusion In this novel study, probiotic administration improves bacterial overgrowth, vitamin B12 availability, and weight loss after RNYGB. These data may provide further evidence that altering the GI microbiota can influence weight loss. Research Information RequestIf you would like to be updated on the latest natural supplement research as it becomes available, please fill out the form below. Your e-mail address will not be sold, rented or exchanged. Return to Supplement Research - Page 1
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