Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder in which immune and inflammatory response causes pain along with cartilage and bone degradation; it can lead to significant disability and compromises quality of life. People with RA often suffer from gastrointestinal disturbances: bloating, gastric pain, nausea and constipation and diarrhea. And interestingly, they have microbiota that differ […]
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Staying Safe in the Scrum
Getting sick is no fun for anyone, but elite athletes fear it most. Researchers in New Zealand gave 30 rugby players either probiotics or placebo over a four week period and then reversed it. Results were impressive: only six on placebo went without a single infection (respiratory or gastrointestinal) while more than twice as […]
Literary License for Probiotics
Probiotics are trending. How do I know? New Yorker magazine assigned staff writer Michael Specter to the case. His Germs Are Us article paints a pretty picture of the future for probiotics. Specter begins with a well-known pathogen, Heliobacter pylori or H.pylori, most associated with stomach ulcers. He visits Martin J. Blaser, microbiologist at New […]
Probiotics Making Inroads with Allergies
Allergic rhinitis is an inflammation of nasal passages and affects more and more people every year. Treatment though is hit-or-miss. Probiotics may help by interacting with the immune system; much depends on the type of bacterium, route of administration, dosing, regimen, and other underlying host factors. Much is still unknown as this review in […]
Bugs Do Make the Picnic
As summer winds down for many in the northern hemisphere, one last barbecue is a lovely way to kiss the season goodbye. Grab some hot dogs and hamburgers and fire up the grill? Maybe best not. Stop and think about what you are doing: the hot flames make these saturated fat, high cholesterol processed […]
Yogurt Mamas
HIV/AIDS infects nearly 1.3 million people in Tanzania and kills more there each year than cancer, heart disease or accidents. It is an epidemic replicated in many sub-Saharan countries. Probiotics benefit people living with HIV/AIDS. This happens in several ways: improving immunity, increasing CD4 cell counts, preventing diarrhea, constipation, and urinary tract infections, reducing […]