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IBS Caused By Bacteria - Confirmed - Antibiotic Treatment


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http://www.medicalne...cles/245874.php

An article published today in Digestive Diseases and Sciences, reports that a study conducted in Greece definitively confirms that Irritable Bowel Syndrome is caused by overgrowth of an aerobic bacteria in the small intestines. The antibiotic Rifaximin has been shown to be an effective treatment.

The Greek study sampled intestinal bacteria and identified the responsible bacteria. This study crowns a ten year international effort.

Rifaximin info:

http://www.rxlist.co...ation-guide.htm

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Maybe it has something to do with the type or level of bacteria killed? They make reference to it as a non-absorbable antibiotic - perhaps it has a different range and doesn't take out the "good" stuff that is replenished with yogurt? That's just an uneducated thought though.

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The suggested anti-biotic is some what unique in that it is barely absorbed into the blood stream, so it's action is mostly limited to the gut, limiting systemic side effects. Whether this has advantages like mega-dosing or mini-dosing, I don't know.

About SIBO, Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth, sources like eMedicine mention various antibiotics, taking 'holidays' and rotating antibiotics.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/212861-overview

I have a particularly high regard for eMedicine as they were focused to a professional medical audience when they started several years ago.

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But a person who tests negative in a SIBO shouldn't respond to antibiotics as therapy and probably should be on probiotics instead. That was my understanding from the gastroenterologist.

I don't doubt this antibiotic might help some kinds of IBS, but to extoll it as a cure for the syndrome is questionable.

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But a person who tests negative in a SIBO shouldn't respond to antibiotics as therapy and probably should be on probiotics instead. That was my understanding from the gastroenterologist.

I don't doubt this antibiotic might help some kinds of IBS, but to extoll it as a cure for the syndrome is questionable.

-I can't debate the illness nor the report of a journal.

-It is rare (unheard of!) for journals to print statements of "definitive proof". That is why I posted the link so that those who suffer so much can be made aware and discuss this with their physicians. y

-I try to use exactly the same phrasings from journal reports. I am not extolling anything. Again, I agree the statements made in the report are exceptional, unusual and noteworthy. I cannot vouch for their truthfulness, except that this appears to be a reputable journal.

a.m.

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But a person who tests negative in a SIBO shouldn't respond to antibiotics as therapy and probably should be on probiotics instead. That was my understanding from the gastroenterologist.

I don't doubt this antibiotic might help some kinds of IBS, but to extoll it as a cure for the syndrome is questionable.

-I can't debate the illness nor the report of a journal.

-It is rare (unheard of!) for journals to print statements of "definitive proof". That is why I posted the link so that those who suffer so much can be made aware and discuss this with their physicians. y

-I try to use exactly the same phrasings from journal reports. I am not extolling anything. Again, I agree the statements made in the report are exceptional, unusual and noteworthy. I cannot vouch for their truthfulness, except that this appears to be a reputable journal.

a.m.

I think you're both right.

Looking at the last statement in the journal, "This new study confirms what our findings with the antibiotic and our previous studies always led us to believe: bacteria are key contributors (empasis mine) to the cause of IBS."

It doesn't say it's the sole contributor or required. If it's not a primary contributor to a certain individual's IBS, then logically, the treatment for it wouldn't do any good. But if it is present, then the antibacterial treatment would work - according to the journal anyway (which also lists percentages of the IBS patients who had SIBO).

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I read this but I'm a little confused. There are basically three types of IBS: constipation, diarrhea, and combination. Is this article only talking about the diarrhea and combination aspects of this disease or does it apply to the folks that have constipation as their main problem?

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