SCD Research

Colon Reflorestation   Research has indicated that "colon reflorestation" can cure chronic diarrhea. Here's the scoop from an article in the Nov. 2000 issue of The Americal Journal of Gastroenterology. "Persky and Brandt, in this issue of the Journal , amply demonstrated how normal human flora bacteria are capable of permanently eradicating C. difficile from the bowel. Lessons learned from this case may have far-reaching clinical implications... "   Research   "Flora Power"—Fecal Bacteria Cure Chronic C. difficile Diarrhea Thomas J. Borody, M.D., F.R.A.C.P., F.A.C.G. "Persky and Brandt, in this issue of the Journal, amply demonstrated how normal human flora bacteria are capable of permanently eradicating C. difficile from the bowel. Lessons learned from this case may have far-reaching clinical implications. First, courage and an innovative spirit are required to carry out what was described by the authors as a "distasteful" procedure. The description reflects our cultural "fecophobia" and might have been viewed quite differently had the procedure been as routine as a blood transfusion—conceptually similar, but one that has largely lost its "hemophobia." Because the procedure is neither routine nor accepted, it is often dismissed even though it can be dramatically curative. The main lesson, then, is that patients with symptomatic, incurable C. difficile seeking out any form of help (2) are perhaps often maintained in a state of considerable suffering while a safe, rapid, and highly effective therapy is available to them virtually anywhere in the world. Yet the therapy is generally not discussed, published, or popularized. Clearly, with our patients' well-being in mind, this area requires further improvement through funded research and a scientific approach to its practice. The second clear lesson is the dramatic and curative, effect of this treatment. In eight reports ... the overall cure rate was 60 of 67 treated patients..."  Read the full article     Elaine Gottschall's thoughts   Nov., 2000: This work was originally done by Dr. McCann at Kaiser Permanente in Ohio. He submitted proper protocol to mainstream journals and has been rejected in the past. I sure hope they at least reference him. McCann's treatment used bacteria from a healthy med student and one can buy this bacteria in foreign countried like Germany. It used to be called Pigel strain after the med student who contributed it. Actually, Dr. McCann has done years of work on it and calls it "Reflorastation." It worked a miracle on one girl whom I know. Dr McCann and his wife actually came to Toronto to administer it about 7 years ago. But I have sent two others to him for UC and they did not recover and both needed an ileostomy when it failed. He did not specifically direct the treatment to Clostridium difficile but to Crohn's and UC of unknown origin. ( By the way the girl has been well for all this time.) His treatment in his papers is much more detailed and deals with first sterilizing the gut with vancomysin, gentomycin, cephamandol and mycostatin. They then introduce a healthy form of E. coli called Pingel (med student from whom it is taken) as well as Lactobacillus acidophilus. He does extensive testing along the way to make sure he has killed off all indigenous flora and that the new ones become implanted. The basis of his hypothesis is that E. coli has mutated to a pathogenic type (E. coli are normally not pathogenic) and he gets rid of this pathogenic type and reflorestates with healthy E. coli. He makes no restriction as for diet. I guess his work was what made me so pleased with the Cornell research on grain-fed cows fermenting the overload of starch from grain (rather than grass) and the raised acidity (or lowered pH) transorming healthy E. coli into pathogenic E coli. I always felt that his procedure would work better if he put them on the SCD. In fact, the girl he cured of relapse was on SCD but the parents were not strict, went to Hawaii and she suffered the relapse that took them to McCann. The work cited in The American Journal of Gastroenterology of Nov. 2000 is practically a repeat of work dating back 100 years ago. Dr. Galland has tried reflorastation (before he went gung-ho for SCD) and it did not work on the patient who was not on SCD but it also did not work on another patient McCann treated who did not respond to SCD. If anyone would like to contact McCann his address is Kaiser Permanente Medical Center 1230 Snow Rd, Parma, Ohio 44130. I really think McCann should combine his work with SCD but what can I do? He is already aware of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I was so pleased to hear that McCann was working with Robert Good, an immunologist who retired from a professorship at a med school and who wrote one of my immunology books.     Additional Opinions   Nov. 2000, Sheila Shea: "The article makes some excellent points, like we are not hemo-phobic but we are definitely fecal-phobic. It's like a transplant, of fecal matter and the bacteria have a positive effect. I think Elaine mentioned that this has been known for 100 years. And it does confirm the importance of positive flora in the gut."