Gastroenterology Category
Probiotics May Reduce the Incidence of Antibiotic and Clostridium Difficile-associated Diarrhea
A study involving 135 hospital patients with a mean age of 74 years receiving antibiotic treatment were randomized into a double-blind, placebo controlled study. Subjects in the study group received 100 g (97 ml) of the probiotic drink twice a day. The drink contained Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.
Size does matter.
I feel somewhat compelled to pen a verse or two regarding the linked article in the New York Times today regarding the continued pandemic this country has with obesity. Most of what we see in the media these days regarding obesity are warnings about the hazards of over indulgence. Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, loads of orthopedic problems color the pages of several health sections of any local paper.
Proton Pump Inhibitors and Vitamin B12 Deficiency
In a recent article published in Aliment Pharmacol Ther, Feb, 2008, it was brought to the attention of the healthcare community that patients on proton pump inhibitors such as Omeprazole may suffer from B12 deficiency despite normal serum levels of B12. This underestimates the prevalence of the deficiency and leaves many patients untreated.
Controversy: Tube Feeding in Advanced Dementia
Reduced food intake and weight loss are normal features of advancing age. Evidence is increasing that non-demented elderly malnourished people benefit from nutritional supplements. Randomized trials are not evident in the literature on demented patients and benefits they may receive from nutritional supplements via tube. This article highlights two problems from the tube feeding of demented patients: 1) they lack the potential for physical or neurological rehabilitation and 2) they are not starving. They are, the article argues, in a state of physical homeostasis.
