Good bacteria after bad

[Guest guest]

[No mention of how diet interacts with Lactobacillus and yeast. No

mention of dietary sources of Lactobacillus. Also, note the emphasis on

probiotic supplements being clinically proven in controlled studies - of

course, because the scientists interviewed hold patents on their

developments. Getting it from homemade sauerkraut? what's that? --David]

 

 

Good bacteria after bad

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040827/HBACTERI\

A27/TPHealth/

 

Two Canadian researchers believe their patented strains of common

bacteria will prove an effective natural treatment for infections in women

 

By CHRIS LACKNER

Friday, August 27, 2004 - Page A13

 

Most people don't go to the drug store to pick up a bottle of bacteria.

But two Canadian researchers and a Danish manufacturer are hoping to

change that.

 

For more than 22 years, microbiologist Gregor Reid and urologist Andrew

Bruce have sung the praises of Lactobacillus, bacteria they say can help

keep women free of bladder and vaginal infections. Together, they have

isolated and patented two strains of the beneficial bacteria that

essentially fight the " bad " microbes that cause the infections.

 

Approximately one million Canadian women suffer from bladder and vaginal

infections annually. Symptoms include the recurring urge to urinate and

soreness in lower abdomen, back or sides; typically, urination is

difficult, painful and tinged with blood.

 

While a faculty member at Queen's University in 1973, Dr. Bruce began to

examine what distinguished healthy woman from those with reoccurring

bladder infections. He determined that healthier women had higher levels

of Lactobacillus, naturally occurring bacteria that travel from the

rectum to the vagina along the outer skin. Once Dr. Reid joined the

project in 1982, the duo devoted themselves to isolating and testing

strains of the bacteria.

 

" Women are exposed to many bugs on a daily basis -- some are beneficial

and some are harmful, " Dr. Reid said from his office at the Lawson

Health Research Institute, an affiliate of the University of Western

Ontario.

 

" Woman who get fewer infections or none at all have [more]

Lactobacillus. . . . What we are essentially doing is topping off the

good bugs, " Dr. Reid said.

 

Two beneficial strains of Lactobacillus -- GR-1 and RC-14 -- were the

focus of the researchers' clinical trials. Participants either inserted

the bacteria vaginally or took it in oral form. The oral product

consists of sealed capsules containing dry, powdered Lactobacillus.

After ingestion, the bacteria travel from the bowel to the rectum and

finally to the vagina. While in the vagina, Lactobacillus inhibits the

formation of yeast and prevents harmful bacteria from multiplying and

entering the bladder.

 

Today their natural remedy is being put into capsules and sold to women

in Malaysia and Hong Kong. Each capsule contains more than five billion

Lactobacillus bacteria and needs to be taken daily to fend off

infections. The probiotic, called Urex-Cap-5, costs $18 (U.S.) for a

package of 30 capsules and is produced by a Denmark-based pharmaceutical

firm, Chr. Hansen.

 

The remedy could be available to North American consumers within a year,

pending approval by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration, Dr. Reid said. With 15 clinical trials behind it, the

researchers believe their remedy will be given a quick green light as a

dietary health supplement.

 

The researchers' most recent studies found that daily oral use of the

probiotic restores Lactobacilli in the vagina and reduces yeast, E. coli

and other harmful organisms by more than 50 per cent.

 

Dr. Reid said no side effects have been documented because Lactobacillus

is a natural bacterium that helps maintain a balanced vaginal flora.

" When you come in with antibiotics [to treat an infection], it's a

serious challenge to the human physique -- it's a chemical substance

foreign to the human body, " he said. " Our [remedy] doesn't cure

infection, but the question is, can you have one infection a year as

opposed to six? "

 

While skeptical at first, May, a 44-year-old from London, Ont., who

asked that her last name not be used, took part in the researchers'

clinical trial in 2000 that tested Lactobacillus's effect on women who

were also taking antibiotics for bladder and urinary tract infections.

The woman, who suffered from chronic urinary tract infections, said

antibiotics usually cured her bladder condition but caused painful yeast

infections.

 

She said the oral Lactobacillus began to ease her pain during the first

three days of her 10-day trial and prevented any side effects from her

antibiotics. " The idea of swallowing bacteria kind of makes you wonder,

but I felt better than I had in a long time, " she said.

 

Dr. Reid said beneficial bacteria in women can be depleted through

antibiotics, menstruation, the use of spermicides and exposure to

multiple sexual partners.

 

Antibiotics offer a proven cure to vaginal and bladder infections, but

do not reduce infection rates. Dr. Reid believes the health industry

needs to focus on prevention as well as treatment. He estimates that

probiotic products could eventually save Canada's health-care system

more than $100-million a year.

 

For two decades, the researchers have faced resistance from both the

scientific community and pharmaceutical industry. But they say growing

public interest in natural remedies and probiotics has changed their

fortunes.

 

The two men formed a company, Urex Biotech Inc., in 1988 to control

their intellectual property, and currently hold 35 patents on their

natural remedy. They licensed their product to Chr. Hansen this year.

 

But medically unproven products claiming to be probiotics often give

their genuine brethren a bad name, Dr. Reid said, adding: " A probiotic

has to be proven to confer a health benefit in a clinical study. "

 

A professor emeritus of urology from the University of Toronto, Dr.

Bruce is currently a consultant to the Lawson Institute. A $500,000

grant to Dr. Reid from the federal Natural Sciences and Engineering

Research Council has helped fund their work for the past two years,

although early on the two had to tap their own resources because

government agencies were " skeptical. "

 

" This has been my baby for a long time, " Dr. Bruce said. " It was my

conception, but it's been hard to get it to birth. "