Probiotics Boost Efficacy of Peptic Ulcer Treatments 30092

Probiotics Boost Efficacy of Peptic Ulcer Treatments

TAINAN, TaiwanConsumption of yogurt enriched with probioticsimproves the eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcerpatients undergoing quadruple therapy after failed triple therapy, according toa study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (83,4:864-69, 2006) (www.ajcn.org).

Researchers from National Cheng Kung University conducted a culture study on138 patients who had not responded to triple therapy (treatment with twoantibiotics and either an acid suppressor or stomach-lining shield). Thepatients were then randomized to receive four weeks of pretreatment with 400mL/d Lactobacillus- and Bifidobacterium-rich yogurt plus one week of quadrupletherapy (treatment with two antibiotics, an acid suppressor and a stomach-liningshield) or one week of quadruple therapy only. The researchers conducted a13C-urea breath test to measure residual H. pylori population in both groups sixweeks after quadruple therapy. In the yogurt-plusquadruple therapy group, theresearchers conducted the 13C-urea breath test before and every two weeks duringthe four-week pretreatment with yogurt.

Patients in the yogurt-plus-quadruple therapy group showed significantlydecreased values of the 13C-urea breath test after four weeks of pretreatmentwith yogurt. Overall, the yogurt-plus-quadruple therapy group had a higher H. pylorieradication rate than did the quadruple therapy-only group. The researchersconcluded a four-week pretreatment with Lactobacillus- and Bifidobacterium-richyogurt can decrease H. pylori loads despite antimicrobial resistance, thusimproving the efficacy of quadruple therapy in eradicating residual H. pylori.