Ulcerative Colitis Treatment

What is an example of an ulcerative colitis treatment?

BACTERIA TO TREAT COLITIS

SCIENTISTS In Scotland have developed a new treatment for the
inflammatory bowel condition ulcerative colitis which affects more
than 12,000 people in the U.K. The treatment ? called synbiotic
therapy ? works by stimulating the growth of healthy bacteria in the
gut. It combines a type of bacterium which colitis sufferers lack with
a carbohydrate known to stimulate the growth of certain bacteria In
the bowel. A pilot study of the new therapy is due to begin at Dundee
University, after encouraging studies there by researchers. Professor
George Macfarlane, who is heading the study, says: 'We believe it
could be a major stop forward in the treatment of this disease.
'Current treatments for ulcerative colitis include antibiotics,
steroids or immuno?suppressants ? and, in some cases, surgery.

Synbiotic therapy is easier to take, has no side?effects and is much
cheaper. 'Ulcerative colitis tends to strike around the age of 20,
though it can occur later. Women are more susceptible. It causes
inflammation of the bowel lining. Symptoms may include blood In the
stools, diarrhoea and lower abdominal pain. Conventional treatments
target the localised infection, but the new therapy aims to encourage
the body's own natural defence mechanisms to manage the colitis.
'Inflammatory bowel disease, of which colitis is a form, is one of the
great question marks In gastroenterology,' explains Prof. Macfarlane.
'We don't know what causes it, but our studies have discovered there
are significant differences in the bacteria found on the bowel walls
of patients with ulcerative colitis compared to those of
healthyiIndividuals. 'Colitis sufferers lack a bacterium called
bifidobacterium, which is found in large quantities in the bowels of
healthy individuals.'

Prof. Macfarlane's team believes bifidobacterium plays a protective
role in the gut. Over the years there has been an increasing use of
probiotics in food preparations such as yoghurt and bioyoghurts, and
studies show they have a beneficial effect on the gut. Scientists can
manufacture the probiotic bifidobacterium by taking it from the gut of
healthy individuals. Grown In the laboratory, it can be harvested and
freeze?dried before being added to gelatine capsules. A four?week
pilot study, funded by the Medical Research Council, will begin in
early October.