Saccharomyces boulardii is a yeast that is used a probiotic and I have seen several references to its use in the treatment of c. difficile. I am going to look into its use further.
Clostridium difficile
- Thread starter Matthew Capowski
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A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Saccharomyces boulardii in Combination With Standard Antibiotics for Clostridium difficile Disease: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=375521
This study found that:
This study found that:
I saw reference to fecal transplants being "strikingly effective for C. diff" but I have not found the studies that looked at this yet.
New study suggesting that antibiotics create the conditions for C. diff to thrive by destroying helpful bacteria that are involved in secondary bile acid production:
Antibiotic-Induced Alterations of the Gut Microbiota Alter Secondary Bile Acid Production and Allow for Clostridium difficile Spore Germination and Outgrowth in the Large Intestine: http://msphere.asm.org/mSphere.00045-15-abstract.php
Abstract: It is hypothesized that the depletion of microbial members responsible for converting primary bile acids into secondary bile acids reduces resistance to Clostridium difficile colonization. To date, inhibition of C. difficile growth by secondary bile acids has only been shown in vitro. Using targeted bile acid metabolomics, we sought to define the physiologically relevant concentrations of primary and secondary bile acids present in the murine small and large intestinal tracts and how these impact C. difficile dynamics. We treated mice with a variety of antibiotics to create distinct microbial and metabolic (bile acid) environments and directly tested their ability to support or inhibit C. difficile spore germination and outgrowth ex vivo. Susceptibility to C. difficile in the large intestine was observed only after specific broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment (cefoperazone, clindamycin, and vancomycin) and was accompanied by a significant loss of secondary bile acids (deoxycholate, lithocholate, ursodeoxycholate, hyodeoxycholate, and ω-muricholate). These changes were correlated to the loss of specific microbiota community members, the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families. Additionally, physiological concentrations of secondary bile acids present during C. difficile resistance were able to inhibit spore germination and outgrowth in vitro. Interestingly, we observed that C. difficile spore germination and outgrowth were supported constantly in murine small intestinal content regardless of antibiotic perturbation, suggesting that targeting growth of C. difficile will prove most important for future therapeutics and that antibiotic-related changes are organ specific. Understanding how the gut microbiota regulates bile acids throughout the intestine will aid the development of future therapies for C. difficile infection and other metabolically relevant disorders such as obesity and diabetes.
Antibiotic-Induced Alterations of the Gut Microbiota Alter Secondary Bile Acid Production and Allow for Clostridium difficile Spore Germination and Outgrowth in the Large Intestine: http://msphere.asm.org/mSphere.00045-15-abstract.php
Abstract: It is hypothesized that the depletion of microbial members responsible for converting primary bile acids into secondary bile acids reduces resistance to Clostridium difficile colonization. To date, inhibition of C. difficile growth by secondary bile acids has only been shown in vitro. Using targeted bile acid metabolomics, we sought to define the physiologically relevant concentrations of primary and secondary bile acids present in the murine small and large intestinal tracts and how these impact C. difficile dynamics. We treated mice with a variety of antibiotics to create distinct microbial and metabolic (bile acid) environments and directly tested their ability to support or inhibit C. difficile spore germination and outgrowth ex vivo. Susceptibility to C. difficile in the large intestine was observed only after specific broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment (cefoperazone, clindamycin, and vancomycin) and was accompanied by a significant loss of secondary bile acids (deoxycholate, lithocholate, ursodeoxycholate, hyodeoxycholate, and ω-muricholate). These changes were correlated to the loss of specific microbiota community members, the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families. Additionally, physiological concentrations of secondary bile acids present during C. difficile resistance were able to inhibit spore germination and outgrowth in vitro. Interestingly, we observed that C. difficile spore germination and outgrowth were supported constantly in murine small intestinal content regardless of antibiotic perturbation, suggesting that targeting growth of C. difficile will prove most important for future therapeutics and that antibiotic-related changes are organ specific. Understanding how the gut microbiota regulates bile acids throughout the intestine will aid the development of future therapies for C. difficile infection and other metabolically relevant disorders such as obesity and diabetes.
Frozen versus Fresh Fecal Microbiota Transplantation and Clinical Resolution of Diarrhea in Patients With Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2481003
So at first glance frozen fecal transplants seem effective for this use case.
Conclusion: Among adults with recurrent or refractory CDI, the use of frozen compared with fresh FMT did not result in worse proportion of clinical resolution of diarrhea. Given the potential advantages of providing frozen FMT, its use is a reasonable option in this setting.
So at first glance frozen fecal transplants seem effective for this use case.
Fecal Transplantation for the Treatment of Clostridium difficile Infection https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3365524/
A very interesting claim from this study: "On average, fecal transplantation yields a cure rate of 91—93%."
A very interesting claim from this study: "On average, fecal transplantation yields a cure rate of 91—93%."
Daniel Hill
New Member
C. Diff now becoming more common outside of hospitals: https://www.npr.org/sections/health...to-hospitals-now-becoming-common-outside-them