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Unraveling the mystery of Crohn's disease: could bacteria found in dairy products play a key role in Crohn's disease?

Article Excerpt
In November 2000, German veterinarian Dr. Heinrich Dahmen began to suffer the unrelenting symptoms of severe pain, cramping, diarrhea, weight loss, and blood loss. After meeting with a gastroenterologist, Dahmen was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and started on conventional treatments for the disease, including immunosuppressive agents and the steroid prednisone.

After brief relief, Dahmen's condition worsened, and he faced invasive surgery to remove part of his inflamed digestive tract. Before undergoing the procedure, he followed up on a tip about the promising work of London investigators who were working on a new radical approach to the disorder. In July 2001, he traveled to London, where the research team found that Dahmen harbored an infectious agent believed to be involved in Crohn's disease. They began treating Dahmen with an antibiotic regimen that proved effective against the pathogen, and his condition slowly improved. Today, Dr. Dahmen is back in his busy veterinary practice, free of symptoms and feeling "cured" of the disease. Follow-up endoscopy and other tests confirm that Dahmen is in remission--his life has returned to normal.

"From that time I felt better and better," Dr. Dahmen told the Post. "I think I'm totally cured now after a two-year therapy."

In the United States, a Florida woman after years of unsuccessful treatments is also experiencing a rebirth after undergoing antibiotic therapy two years ago, which has since eliminated the unpredictable, yet ever-present pain of Crohn's disease,

On the Trail of Crohn's Disease

For decades, researchers have debated the link between an infectious agent and Crohn's, a disease that affects millions of people around the world often in the prime of life. Crohn's numbers among a group of mysterious ailments known as autoimmune disorders, where for as yet unknown reasons the body begins to attack itself, wreaking havoc on normal bodily functions. While scientists are working hard to unravel the cause, of great concern is the fact that the rates of autoimmune disorders, like Crohn's and multiple sclerosis, have more than doubled in the last four decades.

Current treatments focus on the symptoms, but do little to address the root cause of Crohn's, including the potential role of bacteria. Whether infection plays a role remains...