Saccharomyces boulardii (tradename Florastor) for C. difficile

Here’s a story on the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii from John James of AIDS Treatment News, posting at AIDS Treatment News Daily Alerts – www.aidsnews.org/now.

2008-04-30

Report raises C. diff concerns; yeast-based probiotic shown to help significantly reduce recurrence

Antibiotic-resistant Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection is becoming an increasingly serious problem. In principle at least, the use of a probiotic along with antibiotic treatment could make sense.

“A recent meta-analysis of 31 studies compiled and published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology concluded that S. boulardii is the only probiotic that is effective in fighting recurrent C. diff-associated disease.[reference] Additionally, an article in the March 2006 issue of Gastroenterology and Hepatology showed that use of S. boulardii provided an almost 50 percent decrease in subsequent recurrence among patients who suffered recurrent CDAD symptoms.[reference] ‘Because Florastor (S. boulardii) is a yeast and not a bacteria, it is not killed by the strong antibiotics that are being used to kill the C. diff bacteria, so it survives in the digestive tract,’ says Dr. Raymond. ‘When the ‘baby’ C. diff emerge from their spores, they are greeted by a well-colonized gut, rather than an empty playground.’”

Note: references and more detailed reporting at

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/bi-rrc042908.php

For additional information, see the NYBC entry on Florastor or other entries on Saccharomyces boulardii on this blog.