Latest Lactobacillus Stories

OKEMOS, Mich., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The affiliated companies of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee and Indiana are funding two clinical studies to determine if sugarless lollipops containing licorice extract can reduce the bacteria that causes tooth decay in nursing home residents and Head Start children. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080909/CLTU093 ) The investigations are a collaborative effort of the University of Michigan, the University of...

U.S. researchers are developing a freeze-dried formula with a longer shelf-life that protects infants from human immunodeficiency virus while breastfeeding. Researchers from Lavax in Palatine, Ill., and the University of Illinois at Chicago report they have isolated a special strain of probiotic lactobacilli from the human mouth that belongs to the same species as those found in dairy foods, such as yogurt and kefir. This strain captures the HIV virus, which leads to AIDS, by binding to its...

Beneficial bacteria found in healthy women help to reduce the amount of vaginal HIV among HIV-infected women and might make it more difficult for the virus to spread, boosting the possibility that "good bacteria" might someday be tapped in the fight against HIV.The findings come from physicians and scientists at the University of Washington and the University of Rochester Medical Center, who worked together in an effort to learn more about how HIV survives and spreads from person to person....

By PETA BEE WITH their promise to rid the body of the 'bad bacteria' that make us ill, it's no wonder so many of us are buying probiotic dietary supplements. Two million Britons now regularly consume these 'friendly' bacteria in the form of drinks, yoghurts, powders and capsules. 'Friendly bacteria' sound so harmless. So what then are we to make of the story last week that patients with pancreatic disease had died as a result of being given them? Doctors at the University Medical Centre in...

Probiotics, such as yogurt drinks containing live bacteria, have a tangible effect on the metabolism, according to the results of a new study published today (Tuesday 15 January) in the journal Molecular Systems Biology.The research is the first to look in detail at how probiotics change the biochemistry of bugs known as gut microbes, which live in the gut and which play an important part in a person's metabolic makeup. Different people have different types of gut microbes inside them and...

By LINDSEY TANNER CHICAGO - Bugs in baby food? Microbes in your milkshake? Relax, this is not the latest tainted food scare - it's a growing trend in foods designed to boost health, not make you sick. These products contain probiotics, or "friendly" bacteria similar to those found in the human digestive system. There are supplement pills, yogurts, smoothies, snack bars and cereals, even baby formula and chocolate. Sold by major names like Dannon and Kraft, they're spreading like...

By Tiollier, Eve Chennaoui, Mounir; Gomez-Merino, Danielle; Drogou, Catherine; Et al This study examined the effect of a probiotics supplementation on respiratory tract infection (RTI) and immune and hormonal changes during the French Commando training (3-week training followed by a 5- day combat course). Cadets (21 +- 0.4 years) received either a probiotics (n = 24) or a placebo (n = 23) supplementation over the training period. We found no difference in the RTI incidence between groups but...

By Julie Deardorff, Chicago Tribune Jul. 29--Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about probiotics. QUESTION: Which probiotic strain do I want? ANSWER: "If you have a specific health concern, see if any products on the market have been specifically tested for that condition," said industry expert Mary Ellen Sanders, co-founder and executive director of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics. "For mild irritable bowel...

Eating live organisms sounds like a grotesque "Fear Factor" episode or a crude fraternity prank. But some nutrition and medical experts say eating live bacteria may be just what the doctor ordered. Called probiotics, these beneficial live bacteria are found naturally in most yogurts, tofu, sauerkraut, miso and other fermented products such as buttermilk and blue cheese. Probiotics reportedly help balance harmful bacteria in the digestive tract and create a more harmonious internal...

By Forsythe, Paul; Inman, Mark D; Bienenstock, John Rationale: Clinical trials have demonstrated that probiotics may be effective in the treatment and prevention of atopic disease in children but there have been few reports of therapeutic effects of oral probiotics outside the gastrointestinal tract. Objectives: We investigated the effect of two probiotic organisms on the response to antigen challenge in a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation. Methods: We used an...