Probiotics are live bacteria that are consumed in food, but are not harmful. On the contrary, eating a sufficient amount of the probiotics has proved to be very beneficial to health, because consuming them increases the number of beneficial bacteria in the intestines. Probiotics can be found in capsules and yogurt, and may be beneficial in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
What is Inflammatory Bowel Disease?
As explained by Elizabeth Corwin, Ph.D. in "Handbook of Pathophysiology," the term inflammatory bowel disease includes two intestinal diseases, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Ulcerative colitis involves the inflammation of the large intestines, usually starting at the rectum and moving upward, while Crohn's disease may have inflammation in both the small and large intestines. Physicians are not sure what causes these two diseases, but they hypothesize that it involves the immune system, which normally fights against foreign substances, as well as the environment and genetics.
Disease Characteristics of Ulcerative Colitis
The inflammation in ulcerative colitis goes through two layers of the large intestines. This results in swollen intestines, which has ulcers and pseudopolyps, or pieces of one of the layers that just hang off. The rectum is almost always affected, according to Chandra Prakash, M.D., of the Department of Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine, writing in "The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics." From the rectum, the inflammation will then continuously move up the large intestine.
Disease Characteristics of Crohn's Disease
The inflammation in Crohn's disease penetrates all layers of the small and large intestines, and because it does, people may develop fistulas, or abnormal openings that lead from one organ to another. The inflammation is continuous in ulcerative colitis, but not so in Crohn's where there is an area of inflammation, then normal tissue, and then more inflammation. This gives Crohn's the alternate name of regional enteritis, or the regional inflammation of the intestines, writes David Sachar, M.D., Emeritus Director of the Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital, in "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals."
Symptoms
People with inflammatory bowel diseases have abdominal pain and diarrhea, but because ulcerative colitis affects the rectum, people with ulcerative colitis have a bloody diarrhea. Those with Crohn's usually have a watery diarrhea. In "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals," Dr. Sachar writes that people with Crohn's disease may also have a tender abdomen, fever and abscesses. If portions of their intestines have gotten smaller from the disease, they may vomit and have a pain that comes and goes. If they have a fistula from their intestines to their bladder, they can have air bubbles in their urine.
Probiotics and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
There are studies that show that specific bacteria may either start the inflammation of these bowel diseases or perpetuate it, according to Joseph Sellin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch in "Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics." Since some bacteria are proinflammatory while others are anti-inflammatory, some physicians may use probiotics to increase the number of anti-inflammatory bacteria. Dr. Sellin writes that although the use of probiotics is promising, it does require more evaluation.
References
- "Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics"; Laurence Brunton, Ph.D.; 2006
- "Handbook of Pathophysiology"; Elizabeth Corwin, MSN, Ph.D., FNP; 2000
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Crohn's Disease
- "The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics"; Gopa Green, M.D., Ian Harris, M.D., Grace Lin, M.D., Kyle Moylan, M.D.; 2004
