Got Colitis? Probiotics Can Help You Stay Healthy.

If you’ve got ulcerative colitis and you manage to get into remission, then you really want the disease to stay inactive and not relapse. A new study adds to the evidence that probiotics may help you do that. . . .

This study gave forty-six people whose colitis was in remission either a placebo or a probiotic in addition to their regular medication. The study lasted twelve months. 

At the end of three months, 17.4% of the people who were taking a placebo had relapsed, but not one person on the probiotic had.

At the end of six  months, 26.1% of the people who were taking the placebo had now relapsed, while only 8.7% of the probiotic group had.

At the end of nine months, 34.8% of the placebo group had relapsed compared to 21.7% of the probiotic group.

And at the end of the year, 69.5% of the probiotic group were still in remission compared to just 56.6% of the placebo group.

This study suggests that probiotics might be effective at preventing relapses in people whose colitis is in remission. This is not the first study to suggest this strategy. At least two earlier studies have suggested that probiotics can keep colitis in remission (Lancet 1999;354:635-9; Aliment Pharmacol Ther 1997;11:853-8).

World J Gastroenterol 2015;21:5985-94