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

    Probiotics to treat C. difficile-associated diarrhea?

     Drs. Kennon Miller and Thomas Fraser from the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio tell us, “Overall, the evidence does not support using probiotics to treat Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea.”

    Here’s why.

    • Few clinical studies have tested probiotics in C. difficile-associated diarrhea.
    • 2 reviews did not find a clear benefit to adding probiotics to antibiotics to treat.
    • Data from 6 studies included in a 2006 meta-analysis failed to find a benefit.
      • Most of the data was derived from 2 studies of Saccharomyces boulardii.

    Issues with yogurt as a probiotic dietary supplement.

    • Unclear how many of the bacteria added in the manufacturing process are alive once on store shelves.
    • Labeling of the products doesn’t reliably reflect what’s in the yogurt.
    • There’s no testing by the FDA to guarantee manufacturing and labeling standards.

    A more positive summary is here.

    7/8/09 15:52 JR

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