Category Archives: Treatment

Unknown's avatar lassesen 2:58 pm on September 14, 2013  

Probiotics lacking (Lactobacillus) Acidophilus

Readers of this blog know that I use studies that found that:

  • CFS patients are low/very low in healthy E.Coli
  • L.Acidophilus kills E.Coli

This leads me to advocating that any product (probiotics, yogurt, etc) containing L. Acidophilus should be avoided or minimized. This may account for some CFS MDs citing at conferences that they have seen no positive effects from probiotics (and privately mention, that they encourage their use solely for reasons of “bed side manners”). Since IBS and CFS tend to be co-morbid, probiotics that are effective for IBS are always a good choice.

This post is a listing of all probiotics that I have so-far located that are available over the shelf for human consumption. There are additional ones that require prescriptions (in the few countries where it is available) or are used in Veterinary practice. NOTE: Some are temperature sensitive, make sure you know the providence(shipment history) of them.

  • Easiest to obtain: Align, in many pharmacies and on Amazon (98 capsules ~ $70 is best buy) – B. infantis 35624 ONLY; IBS effective
  • Prescript-Assist: on  Amazon (90 capsules ~ $60 is best buy) – 28 species, none are Lactobacillus. IBS effective
  • Mutaflor: Available in Canada and Europe. ($60 for 30 in larger volumes)   E.Coli Nissle 1917 only. From Germany. IBS, UC, Crohns Disease effective
  • BioGala Protestic: on Amazon (30 sticks for $27) –  Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis ONLY . From Sweden
  • Jarrow Fem-Dophilus: on Amazon (120 capsules for $52) –  Lactobacillus rhamnosus, GR-1® and Lactobacillus reuteri, RC-14 ONLY . From Denmark (PubMed: unclear results)
  • BioGala Prodentis : See merchant list; on Amazon  (28 capsules for $36) –  Lactobacillus reuteri Prodentis  ONLY . From Sweden
  • Thorne Bacillus Coagulans on Amazon (60 capsule for $20) or Source Naturals Dura Flora on Amazon  – Bacillus Coagulans  AKA  Lactobacillus Sporogenes (PubMed: Some help for IBS)
  • 4XProBiotic Caplets on Amazon (84 capsule for $35) – Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium bifidum. Note: Bifidobacterium infantis is the same species as Align, but not the same strain — it may be effective for IBS (no studies on pubmed)
  • Jarrow Formulas Saccharomyces Boulardii + MOS
    on Amazon (90 capsule for $18) – Saccharomyces Boulardii (PubMed: No impact on IBS)
  • Now Foods OralBiotic on Amazon (60 capsule for $14) – Streptococcus salivarius BLIS K12
  • Oragenics Evora Plus Probiotic on Amazon (30 mints for $16) – Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus uberis, and Streptococcus rattus
  • Threelac Probiotic on Amazon (60 packages for $42) – bacillus coagulans, bacillus subtilis and enterococcus faecalis [Fivelac contains Acidophilus – avoid]

Example of good providence:  Mutaflor: flown from Germany to Toronto Canada, immediately placed in cold storage there. Shipments sent by 1 or 2 day express, packed in styrofoam box with ice packs to customer.

Single Species versus Multiple Species

A 2013 studies found that some mixtures were more effective than single species. Comparative in vitro inhibition of urinary tract pathogens by single- and multi-strain probiotics found  “Probiotic mixtures prevented the growth of urinary tract pathogens but were not significantly more inhibitory than single strains.”

A 2012 study, In vitro evaluation of single- and multi-strain probiotics: Inter-species inhibition between probiotic strains, and inhibition of pathogens. found ” When single species were tested against mixtures, the multi-species preparations displayed significantly (p < 0.05 or less) greater inhibition of pathogens in 12 out of 24 cases. Despite evidence that probiotic species will inhibit each other when incubated together in vitro, in many cases a probiotic mixture was more effective at inhibiting pathogens than its component species when tested at approximately equal concentrations of biomass.”
T%he full text of “Monostrain, multistrain and multispecies probiotics—A comparison of functionality and efficacy” is an interest read. It’s bottom line is that a properly engineered mixture is best – the problem is that most combinations do not have their effectiveness published as studies.
Unknown's avatar lassesen 2:22 pm on September 13, 2013  

An apple a day (and other fruits) may be very unhealthy

In my last post I reviewed the research on a variety of alternative sugars reaching the conclusion that many had the same effective as antibiotics according to PubMed studies. This morning, I was listening to this weeks edition of the Economist (on newsstands soon – I download from the UK).

Some of the articles are available on http://www.economist.com/ this morning.

Obesity

Wider understanding

Fruit has historically (especially for Northern Europeans) has been a seasonal food. The sugar hit was for a few weeks a year and that was it. Today, it is 7 days/week, 52 weeks a year in “healthy eating” households. This intake of sugar (be it from fruit, fruit juices or pop) has significant impact on the microbiome and thus on a wide variety of metabolic diseases, especially diabetes. A few quotes

“One debate concerns the villainy of glucose, which is found in starches, and fructose, found in fruits, table sugar and, not surprisingly, high-fructose corn syrup. Diets with a high “glycaemic index”, raising glucose levels in the blood, seem to promote metabolic problems.”

“a study published inNature Communications by Richard Johnson, of the University of Colorado, explains that glucose may do its harm, in part, through its conversion to fructose.”

“The other study put 49 overweight participants on a high-fibre diet. Those who began with fewer bacterial species saw an increase in bacterial diversity and an improvement in metabolic indicators. This was not the case for those who already had a diverse microbiome, even when fed the same diet.”

  • Remember — I have been plugging non-GMO REAL German Rye Bread  (imported from Europe and often cheaper than some breads made locally). This is a high-fibre source. Also porridge! Breakfast cereals on the other hand are real bad.

” Fed the proper diet, a person with more vacancies may see the jobs filled by helpful bacteria”

” Fed an identical diet, the mice with bacteria from an obese twin became obese, whereas mice with bacteria from a thin twin remained lean.”

So, reflect carefully before you pick up that next piece of fruit at the market…. Is your body asking for it OR are you responding to prior conditioning?

Unknown's avatar lassesen 4:48 am on September 13, 2013  

Example of some modern microbiome disaster additives?

I suspect there are many other items that have come out of corporate labs that were not evaluated on their impact on the Microbiome before they were approved for use in food. This is just one example. This 2008 study is illuminating on the possible impact on humans.

Splenda alters gut microflora and increases intestinal p-glycoprotein and cytochrome p-450 in male rats.

“At the end of the 12-wk treatment period, the numbers of total anaerobes, bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, Bacteroides, clostridia, and total aerobic bacteria were significantly decreased; however, there was no significant treatment effect on enterobacteria.”

A 2012 study, The antimicrobial activity of the three commercially available intense sweeteners against common periodontal pathogens: an in vitro study. states “All the three sweeteners showed significant antimicrobial activity against the periodontal pathogens tested. Sucralose  showed maximum zone of inhibition, against Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. Saccharin and aspartame showed maximum zone of inhibition, against Porphyromonas gingivalis.”

A 2007 study Effect of chewing gums containing xylitol or probiotic bacteria on salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli also found impact.

In fact, going back to 1990, we have The influence of sucralose on bacterial metabolism found  “The incorporation of 126 mmol/L sucraloseinto glucose agar medium caused total inhibition of growth of Streptococcus sobrinus 6715-17, Streptococcus sanguis 10904, Streptococcus sanguis Challis, Streptococcus salivarius, and Actinomyces viscosus WVU627. ”

There is a nasty two edge sword here — xylitol is often advocate for a mouth wash or for people with diabetes. It is also lethal for dogs. What we know, dates back to 1985 with Gut microflora interactions with xylitol in the mouse, rat and man. “xylitol feeding caused a clear shift in the rodent faecal microbial population from Gram-negative to Gram-positive bacteria. In human volunteers a similar shift was observed even after a single 30-g oral dose of xylitol. ”

We can even look at this 2012 study looking at Stevia: Antimicrobial potential of extracts from Stevia rebaudiana leaves against bacteria of importance in dental caries.  “For the four Lactobacillus… suggesting they were the most susceptible microorganisms.” So yogurt with Stevia is not a wise food choice….

In short, all of the artificial (or greatly concentrated unusual sugars) alter the microbiome.  Is it an alteration for the better or the worst?  There are no studies, especially for CFS patients — apart from d-ribose (which helps CFS patients).

Trying some of these for 10 days may have a positive effect. If so, then pulse them every 6-12 weeks. If you are regularly using any of them. Get off them for at least 8 weeks and see if there is a change.

We do not know if they help or hinder. They do change. They are effectively non-prescription antibiotics!

Unknown's avatar lassesen 7:31 pm on September 2, 2013  

Neurological Symptoms and the Gut

Medicine often assumes a very mechanical approach to illness and symptoms. This keeps medicine simple (almost naive in one sense). “Where the symptom is, is where the problem is”.

So if there is cognitive issues, then a MRI should show it (rarely the case for CFS/Chronic Lyme). We now know that SPECT scans show 80-90% abnormality for these conditions.

A recent paper, Towards a ‘systems’-level understanding of the nervous system and its disorders (2013), states: ” Accordingly,neurological and psychiatric disorders are increasingly being associated with a range of systemic comorbidities including, most prominently, impairments in immunological and bioenergetic parameters as well as in the gut microbiome [gut bacteria].” 

This is echoed in another 2013 article Bacterial colonization factors control specificity and stability of the gut microbiota states “Mammals harbour a complex gut microbiome, comprising bacteria that confer immunological, metabolic and neurological benefits.”

A third paper from 2013, The intestinal microbiome, probiotics and prebiotics in neurogastroenterology. is of particular interest because it states ” These findings provide novel insights for improved understanding of the potential role of gut microbial communities on psychological disorders, most particularly in the field of psychological comorbidities associated with functional bowel disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and should present new opportunity for interventions with pro- and prebiotics.”

IBS is very often comorbid with CFS and thus neurological (a.k.a. psychological) disorders of CFS falls into this potential scope.  This connection is why I advocate (strongly) that CFS patients should add a weekly rotation between

Both have had studies that showed a significant percentage of remission from IBS. There have been no studies on the impact on IBS that is comorbid with CFS.  With IBS there is a simple one step association, CFS is two steps away often.

A 2012 article is available in full text for free  Gut microbial communities modulating brain development and function. We know that stress can cause CFS flares, this article states “stress induced secretion of norepinephrine favored overgrowth of non-pathogenic isolates of Escherichia coli as well as the pathogenic E. coli0157:H7″, we do not know which other species are impacted by norepinephrine.

We know that B12 is typically low, the article states “Gut microbiota also synthesize vitamins that are essential for human survival such as vitamins K2 and B12. Vitamin B12 or cobalamin is produced mainly by Lactobacillus reuteri and is important for development of the nervous system.” L.Reuteri is almost always found to be very low or almost non-existent for CFS patients.  This low level may be a significant contributor to neurological issues.

Bottom Line

There is significant evidence that microbiome may be the cause of some of CFS neurological issues. There are three probiotics that are commercially available that have studies backing their use,

Do not take these at the same time, rotate them in isolation (and cut out the yogurt and other fermented products containing lactobacillus acidophilus while taking them].

Unknown's avatar lassesen 6:33 am on September 2, 2013  

Fungal meningitis – Alternative Treatment Approach?

A long time friend, “QD”, emailed me because she strongly suspect she has a moderate ongoing (treatment resistant?) case of fungal meningitis which she describes as ” but the brain damage continues – constant head pressure, severe damage to my balance, temporary nystagmus, 3 am anxiety attacks – all of this new since the onset of ????” I do not know if she has this condition, but I will assume that she has and see where PubMed leads for possible solutions:

According to the CDC, this condition may be caused by one (or more) of the following:

A recent articles states “Diagnostic certainty remains difficult with these infections[fungal meningitis] due to the poor sensitivity of available diagnostic tests. “ [2012]

General speculation

Many of these are known to form biofilms, which suggests rinsing the mouth out with a solution of both EDTA and NAC and then spitting it out. Add in capsules of EDTA and NAC with your usual supplements.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23954841

Candida albicans

Looking at the following recent PubMed articles we find some herbs that are found effective:

And for probiotics, research suggests that it is very species specific:

Cryptococcus neoformans

For herbs, just two articles (both available in full text for free):

Nothing found for probiotics. However recent studies found that a combination theraphy is more effective[2013]

Histoplasma

Nothing found for herbs or probiotics

Blastomyces

Nothing found for herbs or probiotics

Coccidioides

Nothing found for herbs or probiotics

Bottom Line

These infections appear to be both difficult to accurately diagnosis and treat. There appears to be some potential benefit with some probiotics (if you can find the species available) and with some specific herbs (which may be more difficult to obtain).