What Are The Benefits Of Probiotics For Colitis?

Colitis, also known as inflammatory bowel disease, is a condition in which the large intestine becomes chronically inflamed. The lining of the intestine ulcerates, and diarrhea with blood and pus results. The exact cause of colitis is unknown, but the University of Maryland Medical Center reports that it may be due to a variety of interrelated factors, including genetics, immune response and environmental triggers. Probiotics,-- bacteria that can thrive within the human body and produce benefits to health -- have been investigated in the treatment of colitis.

Induction of Remission

A mixture of probiotic bacteria known as VSL#3 was able to induce remission from colitis in 77 percent of subjects studied in a 2005 report published in the "American Journal of Gastroenterology." The study, conducted by Dr. Richard Fedorak of the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Alberta, found that patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis had no adverse reactions to treatment with VSL#3.

Prolonged Remission

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of probiotics in treating ulcerative colitis, researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCUHS) conducted a survey of probiotic trials on adult subjects. Their findings, reported in the March 2010 edition of "The Annals of Pharmacotherapy," suggest that treatment with the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG significantly prolonged remission periods in subjects with ulcerative colitis.

Reduction of Symptoms

The VCUHS survey also reviewed studies of milk products that were fermented with the probiotic bifidobacterium. This probiotic was found to significantly reduce exacerbation of colitis symptoms, and the treatment was well tolerated by the subjects involved. The researchers suggest that large, randomized controlled trials are necessary to confirm the effectiveness of probiotics in treating this condition.

Prevention of Relapse

Researchers at the Chinese PLA Institute of Digestive Medicine have found that bifidobacteria are also helpful in preventing a relapse of ulcerative colitis, according to a study published in the 2004 edition of the "World Journal of Gastroenterology."

Additional support for the use of probiotics in preventing relapse comes from a June 2003 study published in the "European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology." The research, conducted at the Gastroenterology Unit of San Raffaele University Hospital in Milan, Italy, focused on Saccharomyces boulardii, a probiotic that, unlike most others, is a yeast rather than a bacterium. In a group of patients who received 250 mg of Saccharomyces boulardii three times daily for four weeks, 70 percent achieved clinical remission from colitis.