Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that can affect any part of your digestive system, from mouth to anus. It can be very debilitating, causing gastrointestinal distress, poor appetite, weight loss and malnutrition. There is no cure for Crohn's disease, but it is managed with medication. Probiotics have been proposed as a possible aid to treatment but have not been proven to be effective.
About Ileocolic Crohn's
When dealing with Crohn's disease, it is important to know which part of your digestive tract is affected. This will help you understand your symptoms and treatment. Although Crohn's disease can affect any part of your digestive system, it most commonly affects the ileum and colon and is referred to as ileocolitis. Symptoms of ileocolitis include diarrhea, cramping and pain in the right lower part or middle of your abdomen. Ileocolitis also causes significant weight loss.
About Probiotics
Your digestive system is loaded with microorganisms. Some of these organisms are good for you, while others are not. The good microorganisms help you digest food and make vitamins and essential fatty acids. Ideally your digestive tract should have more good microorganisms than bad. Probiotics are supplements that help promote the balance of the good microorganisms in your body. In addition, probiotics may also improve your immune health, decrease problems associated with inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and prevent complications associated with use of antibiotics.
Theory
Because probiotics help to restore balance to your digestive tract, increasing the good and decreasing the bad microorganisms, it was hypothesized that they would reduce inflammation in the gut and decrease Crohn's flareups. In addition, antibiotics are often prescribed to treat infections and flareups, and while killing the bad microorganisms, they also kill the good microorganisms. Supplementing with probiotics after taking antibiotics helps improve the microorganism balance.
Research
It would seem as though probiotics could be beneficial to those suffering from ileocolic Crohn's disease, but research says otherwise. A 2008 review study published on "Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews" set out to determine if there was any evidence that probiotic supplementation was helpful in improving remissions in people with Crohn's disease. Researchers found that there was insufficient evidence to make any conclusions about the efficacy of probiotics and Crohn's remission. A 2002 study published in "Digestive and Liver Disease" assessed the efficacy of probiotic supplementation on a group of individuals with Crohn's disease following surgery. Forty-five patients were included in the study and randomly assigned to receive the probiotic or a placebo for 12 months. The researchers found no difference in clinical outcomes at the end of the study period.
References
- Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America; About Crohn's Disease; 2009
- "Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews"; Probiotics for Induction of Remission in Crohn's Disease; A.D. Butterworth, et al.; July 2008
- RD411; Probiotics and Prebiotics; August 2008
- "Digestive Liver Diseases"; Probiotics and Crohn's Disease; C. Prantera and M.L. Scribano; September 2002
