Probiotic may be helpful for abdominal pain

[Guest guest]

This is why I drink my homemade Kefir daily.....Especially good for those

with compromised immune systems....

 

According to a Reuters Health article citing an animal study published in

Nature Medicine, treatment with the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus produces

changes in the intestinal tract that help reduce abdominal pain related to

irritable bowel syndrome. According to the article, the researchers examined

lab rats with induced abdominal pain, that were provided Lactobacillus

strains, which led to an increase in the number of receptors for naturally

produced

pain-killing substances on cells lining the intestine.

 

 

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Probiotic may be helpful for abdominal pain

Dec 11, 2006

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treatment with the probiotic Lactobacillus

acidophilus, a beneficial type of microbe, produces changes in the intestinal

tract that help reduce abdominal pain related to irritable bowel syndrome,

findings from an animal study suggest.

 

In fact, the effect of the treatment in reducing pain is on par with that of

morphine.

 

Probiotics help regularize the population of microbes normally found in the

intestines. " Modulation of intestinal flora may be a promising, safe and

relatively inexpensive new treatment for abdominal pain, a prominent symptom of

irritable bowel syndrome, which affects 20% of the general population, " Dr.

Pierre Desreumaux, from INSERM in Lille, France, and colleagues note in the

research journal Nature Medicine.

 

Using lab rats with induced abdominal pain, the researchers found that oral

administration of Lactobacillus strains led to an increase in the number of

receptors for naturally produced pain-killing substances on cells lining the

intestine. The result was an analgesic effect similar to that of morphine.

 

The findings suggest that intestinal microbiology influences the perception

of visceral pain, the researchers conclude.

 

SOURCE: Nature Medicine, online December 10, 2006.

 

© Reuters 2006. .

 

 

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Rousseaux C, Thuru X, Gelot A, et al. Lactobacillus acidophilus modulates

intestinal pain and induces opioid and cannabinoid receptors. Nature Med 206

Dec 10; Published online, doi:10.1038/nm1521.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nm1521.html

http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm1521.html

 

 

Brief Communication

Published online: 10 December 2006; | doi:10.1038/nm1521

 

Lactobacillus acidophilus modulates intestinal pain and induces opioid and

cannabinoid receptors

 

 

Christel Rousseaux1, 2, 3, Xavier Thuru1, 2, 3, 10, Agathe Gelot4, 5, 6, 10,

Nicolas Barnich7, Christel Neut1, 2, 3, Laurent Dubuquoy1, 2, 3, Caroline

Dubuquoy1, 2, 3, Emilie Merour1, 2, 3, Karen Geboes8, Mathias Chamaillard1,

2, 3, Arthur Ouwehand9, Greg Leyer9, Didier Carcano9, Jean-Frédéric

Colombel1, 2, 3, Denis Ardid4, 5, 6 & Pierre Desreumaux1, 2, 3

 

1 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U795,

Hôpital Swynghedauw, Rue A Verhaeghe, 59037 Lille Cedex, France.

 

2 University of Lille 2, Hôpital Swynghedauw, Rue A Verhaeghe, 59037 Lille

Cedex, France.

 

3 Digestive Tract Diseases and Nutrition Department, Huriez Hospital, 1

Place de Verdun, 59037 Lille Cedex, France.

 

4 INSERM U766, 28 Place Henri Dunant, BP 38, 63001 Clermont-Ferrand, France.

 

5 Laboratoire de Pharmacologie Médicale, University of Clermont 1, Unité de

Formation et de Recherche Médecine, 28 Place Henri Dunant, BP 38, 63001

Clermont-Ferrand, France.

 

6 Institut Universitaire et Technologique de Biologie, Ensemble

Universitaire des Cézeaux, BP 86, 63172 Aubière, France.

 

7 Laboratoire de Pathogénie Bactérienne Intestinale, Centre Biomédical de

Recherche et de Valorisation, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, 28 Place

Henri Dunant, 63001 Clermont-Ferrand, France.

 

8 Department of Pathology and Gastroenterology, University of Leuven,

Minderbroedersstraat 12, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.

 

9 Danisco Cultures Division, Danisco, 20 Rue Brunel, 75017 Paris, France.

 

10 These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence should be addressed to Pierre Desreumaux

pdesreumaux

Abdominal pain is common in the general population and, in patients with

irritable bowel syndrome, is attributed to visceral hypersensitivity. We found

that oral administration of specific Lactobacillus strains induced the

expression of -opioid and cannabinoid receptors in intestinal epithelial cells,

and

mediated analgesic functions in the gut-similar to the effects of morphine.

These results suggest that the microbiology of the intestinal tract influences

our visceral perception, and suggest new approaches for the treatment of

abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome.