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Bacterial Flora as a Cause or Treatment of Chronic Diarrhea

2012; Elsevier BV; Volume: 41; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.gtc.2012.06.002

1558-1942

Franco Scaldaferri, Marco Pizzoferrato, Silvia Pecere, Fabrizio Forte, Antonio Gasbarrini,

Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research

Intestinal microflora can be considered an organ of the body. It has several functions in the human gut, mostly metabolic and immunologic, and constantly interacts with the intestinal mucosa in a delicate equilibrium. Chronic diarrhea is associated with an alteration of gut microbiota when a pathogen invades the gut and also in several conditions associated with intestinal mucosal damage or bowel dysfunction, as in inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome , or small bowel bacterial overgrowth . This article discusses the basis of gut microbiota modulation. Evidence for the efficacy of gut microbiota modulation in chronic conditions is also discussed.