Healthnotes Newswire (August 23, 2007)—Treatment with antibiotics frequently causes the unpleasant side effect of diarrhea, most likely because antibiotics disrupt the natural balance of bacteria in a person’s intestines. A new study in the British Medical Journal suggests that drinking a probiotic yogurt drink may help prevent antibiotic-related diarrhea.
Healthnotes Newswire (June 14, 2007)—While probiotics are usually used to encourage the growth of healthy bacteria in the large intestine, new research suggests that they can also benefit the stomach, helping people with gastritis and peptic ulcer disease respond better to treatment.
Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that can colonize the stomach, leading to gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in some people. Most people with these conditions are infected with H. pylori.
A combination of two antibiotics and an acid blocker—known as triple therapy—is used to treat gastritis and peptic ulcer disease associated with H. pylori infection. This approach, however, leads to side effects, such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, and has only a modest success rate (about 75%), so the search for other treatments continues.
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In a recent petition to Starbucks, our friends at Care2 point out the growing concern around recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST. According to the petition:
"The problem is, this hormone is known to cause harm to cows and may pose harm to humans. Use of rBGH can contribute to the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria. rBGH increases the rate of udder infections in cows, which are then treated with antibiotics. Use of rBGH could also pose a cancer risk to people. Injections of rBGH increase another hormone, called IGF-1, in the cow and the cow's milk. Too much IGF-1 in humans is linked with increase rates of colon, breast, and prostate cancer."
Healthnotes Newswire (April 5, 2007)—Is your doctor quick to pull out the prescription pad when you come in with a sinus infection? If so, you’re not alone. According to a study in the Archives of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, antibiotics are being used too frequently to treat sinus infections, and doctors may not be choosing the most effective drug.
There are two basic types of sinus infections: those that last up to 4 weeks (acute sinusitis) and those that go on for 12 weeks or more (chronic sinusitis). While acute sinusitis is generally caused by an infectious agent—most commonly a virus—chronic sinusitis is usually related to other factors such as frequent upper respiratory infections, smoking, swimming, immune deficiencies, decongestant medication abuse, or anatomical problems like a deviated septum.
Healthnotes Newswire (March 22, 2007)—What if you were told that you could cure your frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs) for good? According to a recent study in Phytomedicine, it might be as easy as taking a concentrated cranberry extract. Caused by an overgrowth of bacteria, UTIs are particularly common in women, infants, and the elderly. Symptoms can include a burning sensation with urination, a sense of urgency when having to void, frequent urination, bad-smelling urine, and dark, cloudy, or bloody urine.
