LEW...Never mind...it is in pieces-parts all over.Here is the core of it you wanna know anyway:----------------"Cedars-Sinai investigators evaluated 202 patients who underwent a specializedbreath test to determine the presence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, acondition in which bacteria typically found in the colon makes its way up into thesmall intestine."The bacteria produces the bowel symptoms. The fact that we found theovergrowth in almost 80 percent of patients with IBS is quite dramatic,"Pimental explained.He noted that there are several mechanisms designed to prevent the build-up ofbacteria in the small intestine, but researchers do not know what goes wrong toallow the bacteria to accumulate.Participants in the study were treated for 10 days with antibiotics, whicheliminated signs of the disease in 25 of the 47 patients who returned forfollow-up exams. Treatment with alternative antibiotics has been effective inabout 90 percent of patients at the Cedars-Sinai clinic, Pimental said.Of the 25 study patients in which no small intestine bacteria was detected aftertreatment with antibiotics, 12 reported no symptoms of IBS and 13 reportedsignificantly reduced symptoms, the researchers said."We are concerned about overtreatment with antibiotics and potential resistanceto antibiotics. We are currently studying other therapies for eliminating thebacteria, but the results so far are not objective," the Cedars-Sinai doctor said.The Cedars-Sinai team, which published its study results in the December issueof The American Journal of Gastroenterology, is currently conducting adouble-blind study comparing treatment with antibiotics to placebo in IBSpatients."_--------------------------So 161 out of 202 tested positive for sign of bacterial overgrowth in small intestine = 80% test positiveActively particpated in followup of 10 day course of antibiotic therapy: 47 (23% of subjects, 29% of test positivie subjects)Test negative after antibiotic course: 25 of 47 (53%)Of these, remission reported by 12 (25% of the test-positive subjects reporting for followup; 48% of the group which responded to antibiotics)Reduced symptoms reported by 13. (Res Ipsa Loquiter)That "90%" number was not quantified in the publication, but was a number quoted by the investigator as representing outcomes int eh clinic using various antibiotic regimens unspecified. The number is fuzzy in the quotation.WHile the numbers hardly point to a revolutionary new therapy, as they are much lower success rates than have been found with other non-pharmacotherapies, they do suggest another form of effective therapy for a specific symptom set may be efficiacious....suggests that there is indeed a subpopulation of patients with IBS symptoms whose symptoms can be linked to bacteria taking up residence in the small intestine where they don't belong and contributing to symptoms, and that some of these patients repsond to antibiotic treatment favorably. The downside is that repeat therapy is necessary and the issue of resistance then arises.It does suggest that patients that meet the symptom-set profile of the test-positive cases should be considered candidates for this testing as a screen, and if test-positive that at least a 50% expectation of benefit from antibiotic therapy is realistic. Right in-line with many other therapies, which have reported symptomologic benefits ranging from 30% to 70% (or 0% if the patient selection criteria are not followed).Therefore one more subpopulation may be helped where this may be appropriate.MNL______________
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