The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Current status of probiotics to treat gastrointestinal infections

    There have been lots of posts here on probiotics and their effects in a wide range of infections of the GI tract. Probiotics are an appealing concept given their favorable safety profiles.

    Now, a summary of clinical trials has been published.

    Here are the findings.

    • Some placebo-controlled trials show that lactobacilli suppress infections caused by Helicobacter pylori, but others fail to confirm this.
    • Controlled trials support the use of Lactobacillus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii to prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and the effectiveness of S boulardii used as add-on therapy for recurrent infections.
    • Several placebo-controlled trials show that Lactobacillus GG reduces the severity and duration of acute diarrhea in children.
    • Studies of probiotics to prevent traveler’s diarrhea report conflicting results, and their routine use cannot be recommended in this setting.
    • Conclusive evidence that probiotics prevent secondary pancreatic infections is not available at this time.

    Another review that discusses the various bacteria and yeasts used as probiotics is available at PDRhealth.com.

    10/7/06 20:19 JR

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