GanedenBC30 Limits Recurrence, Severity of CDI

CLEVELANDGanedenBC30®, a patented strain of Bacillus coagulans (GBI-30, 6086), may prevent the recurrence of Clostridium difficile-induced infection (CDI), according to a new study designed and funded by Ganeden Biotech®. Known as C. diff, this bacterium causes inflammation of the colon; annual treatment costs for C. diff are estimated at more than $3 billion. CDI usually occurs after antibiotics have been taken, which often kill healthy bacteria in the gut, and the imbalance can allow overgrowth of C. diff. The spectrum of C. diff-associated disease ranges from mild antibiotic-associated diarrhea to severe and life threatening pseudomembranous colitis.

In the study, published in Gut Pathogens (2012;4:13. DOI: 10.1186/1757-4749-4-13), mice were treated for five days with vancomycin, and then given C. diff to induce colitis. Half the animals received another five day course of vancomycin, and half a placebo. The mice then received either BC30 or placebo. The mice that received BC30 had less recurrence of colitis. In addition, the mice that did become re-infected with C. diff had less severe symptoms and recovered more quickly than the untreated group. On day 17, 88.9 percent of mice treated with GanedenBC30 had normal stools, while none of the mice in the placebo group had normal stools.

"C. diff infections are very common in hospitals and nursing homes where individuals have compromised immune systems," said David Keller, Ph.D., vice president of scientific operations at Ganeden Biotech and one of the study's authors. "C. diff treatment is a double-edge sword: you get it while on antibiotics but it's then treated with antibiotics. And once you have had it, you are much more susceptible to getting it again. Currently antibiotics are the primary weapon in the arsenal to fight C. diff. These findings show that the probiotic GanedenBC30 may provide an alternative."