Posted on 09/16/2004 6:43:08 PM PDT by Born Conservative
The clearest evidence yet that Crohn's disease is caused by a type of bacteria blamed for a similar animal disorder has been published by US researchers. Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) was found for the first time in the blood of people with the disorder.
Half of the 28 people with Crohn's tested positive for Map.
Dr Saleh Naser, from the University of Central Florida, who led the research, said a large-scale study was needed.
Crohn's disease affects 100,000 Britons and can cause a variety of symptoms from a lack of appetite to chronic diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
The cause of the disease is not yet known but the Map bacterium, which causes Johne's disease, a similar intestinal disorder, in cattle, sheep and goats, was first linked to Crohn's 20 years ago.
Dr Naser's team took blood samples from 52 people - 28 with Crohn's, nine with ulcerative colitis, another inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and 15 people without a IBD.
Blood
The live bacterium was found in the blood of 14 patients with Crohn's but in none of the people without the disorder.
It is the first time the bacterium has been found in the blood as other studies have focused on human tissue.
Two people with ulcerative colitis were also reported to have Map present but the study said this could have been because they had Crohn's.
Traces of Map DNA were found in some of the people with ulcerative colitis and three without an IBD.
The study suggested this was because Map is common in the environment with exposure most likely to happen through the food and water supply.
The findings now need to be replicated in other laboratories. Whatever one's view, Map cannot continue to be ignored in Crohn's disease Professor Warwick Selby, of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia
However, it is thought these people would not have developed Crohn's as people with the disorder have to be genetically susceptible first.
In the past, scientists have claimed Crohn's is passed to humans through milk.
Dr Naser said: "The fact that some people had Map DNA in their blood is worrying. It suggests the bacterium is not just opportunistic.
"It is present more than we think. We know cattle and sheep have this bacteria so it is possible animals may be spreading the disease and pasteurisation is not doing the job it should be."
'Significant'
He said the fact that half the people with Crohn's had Map was a "significant number" and future studies should result in a higher proportion.
"We only took a small blood sample, if we are right, Map will be present in a greater proportion of people with Crohn's.
"What we now need is more work to prove this theory."
Writing in the Lancet, Professor Warwick Selby, of the Gastroenterology and Liver Centre at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia, agreed more research was needed.
"This report may still fall short of proving that Map is one of the causes of Crohn's disease but as with similar studies it raises many important questions.
"The findings now need to be replicated in other laboratories. Whatever one's view, Map cannot continue to be ignored in Crohn's disease."
Dr Martin Sarner, the honorary secretary of Core, formerly the Digestive Disorders Foundation, said if it could be proved Map caused Crohn's it would represent a huge breakthrough for patients.
"It would help in the treatment of the disease. It is terribly debilitating for people.
"At the moment people are with given medication, which just keeps the inflammation at bay or they have surgery which can involve cutting away tissue.
"And the problem they face is that it can just keep coming back."
Ping
Crohn's is something you definitely don't want to get. I have a bit of ulcerative colitus (the doc said it was a 1 or 2 on a scale of 10) and it is truly a bother.
My ex-husband has ulcerative colitis. After several years of uncontrollable diarrhea, it's now under control. It can be a horrible disease which can really impair your lifestyle.
I knew one poor dude with Chrons. It came and went randomly, and he tried all these pain killers that never worked. The doctor told him Oxycontin won't help, but I think he may have lied because he was a young male, and a bit of a spaz who liked to party... the doc didn't trust him, perhaps???
I would think the doc didn't trust him; prescription narcs can be a very slippery slope. I do remember when I was in nursing school, and one of my first patients was a 30-something male with Crohn's, who was admitted to have a central line inserted (IV line in a large vein in the chest) to receive TPN (nutrition through an IV). I distinctly remember that he was on rather large doses of methadone and Percocet. It can be a very painful disease...
"live bacterium was found in the blood of 14 patients with Crohn's "
So 1/2 the Crohn's pts ...and a few of the other subjects.
Hmmm............
Chrons runs in my family..my Aunt is practically dying from it. She can't eat and not be near a toilet...it's that simple. She weighs next to nothing and has had it since age 35. She is now 50.
Livestock journals knew that bacteria was involved in pig stomach ulcers back in the 40's and could be treated with simple, inexpensive antibiotics.
Yet, for decades, humans with ulcers were subjected to dietary restrictions, blamed for stressful lifestyles, and foisted perpetual courses of some of the world's biggest $elling prescriptions to treat it.
Funny thing was, once the patents on the ulcer drugs ran out - they reincarnated as common, OTC heartburn remedies. At the same time, "news" suddenly came out how human stomach ulcers were linked to pylori bacteria and could be treated with a single course of...you guessed it...simple, inexpensive Tetracycline antibiotics.
Bacteria has been recently linked to some heart disease as well.
bump
Not to mention the HPV link to uterine cancer. Similarly growing evidence links bacteria and viruses to autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.
I had a cousin who had Crohn's disease. She suffered for many years, unable to eat almost everything. Never gaining any weight. She finally committed suicide over the endless pain of it all. This was before 1980. I felt so sorry for her, and I wish she could have hung in there for today's medicines. RIP, Kay
Haven't there been some experimental treatments with parasitic worms, on the theory that an autoimmune reaction is involved (some remarkable remissions) or is that for another intestinal disorder?
My father was struck with it in his 50s, had to have a piece of intestine removed. He hates milk, never drank it. I'll never forget the onset, sudden, violent and crippling, seeing him hauled off on a stretcher, had never seen him sick before ! Has been mostly OK since (now over 80), occasional trouble, but he never again felt he was totally in control - always the fear of sudden violent attacks so it limited many travel desires.
Sounds like a pretty crappy disease.
Jordan Rubin had that and wrote a remarkable book about his experience coming out of it after being at the point of death. "The Maker's Diet"
I think it is HMSO's or homeostatic soil organisms (not really worms) and probiotics that Jordan Rubin used in overcoming the disease, along with a specific diet (really a very good sound diet). I'm going to read The Maker's Diet again. I went on the 40-day program he suggested; but I don't have ulcerative colitis. The book just rang true to me, and I would feel better if I would just stick to it closer all the time.
Cuturelle is the best probiotic available for help in this area. My daughter has Crohn's and her GI doctor recommended it.
The worms are 'helmenthic therapy'. Look up Dr. Joel Weinstock. It is being used in Europe.
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