A new study in France shows that the absence of a specific bacterium in your intestines could be a possible cause of the chronic inflammatory intestinal disorder known as Crohns disease.
Crohns disease symptoms can vary from person to person and flare-ups can range from mild to severe. Some common symptoms include:
- Chronic diarrhea
- Abdominal cramps
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Rectal bleeding
- Loss of appetite
Whats more, Crohns disease not only affects your digestive tract, but can lead to problems in your joints, eyes, skin and liver!
But the new study suggests adding good bacteria found in probiotics to your intestinal tract may help reduce the painful flare-ups associated with the digestive disease. The specific microbe examined in this study is known as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii.
Philippe Langella, M.D., at the National Institute for Agricultural Research in France examined the levels of the F. prausnitzii bacterium in 21 patients diagnosed with Crohns disease.
The findings show that patients had a significantly lower amount of the bacterium at time of diagnosis and treatment. As the patients entered into remissionor a period of relief from their symptomsthe normal levels of the bacterium increased.
In a similar laboratory experiment on mice injected with Crohns disease, Langella and his team found that introducing F. prausnitzii to the mice had a protective effect and dramatically decreased the number of animals that died, according to a Reuters health report.
Langella concluded that the probiotic agent [F. prausnitzii] appears to be a promising strategy in Crohns disease treatment.
The findings were published online by the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.