Saccharomyces Boulardii in Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Various studies have been conducted in past using different strains of probiotics in
evaluating IBS symptoms. The results are by no means consistent and the overall impact of
probiotics in IBS remains unclear. However, recently O'Mahony L et al have shown that
Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 alleviates symptoms in IBS; this symptomatic response was
associated with normalization of the ratio of an anti-inflammatory to a proinflammatory
cytokine (IL-10/IL-12 ratio), suggesting an immune-modulating role for this organism, in this
disorder.Saccharomyces boulardii is a probiotic yeast that has been successfully used for the
antibiotic induced diarrhea, prevent relapse of Clostridium difficile and Crohn's disease. It
ameliorates intestinal injury and inflammation caused by a wide variety of enteric
pathogens.We therefore plan a Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to assess
the effects of Saccharomyces boulardii in improving symptomatology of diarrhea predominant
IBS and its effect on quality of life. We also plan to assess the changes in the relative
production of anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10 to proinflammatory cytokines (IL-12, IL-8
and TNFα).