Common antibiotic for diarrhoea shows hope for inflammatory bowel disease: Study

Researchers from the University of Birmingham, UK, showed that an antibiotic called vancomycin may also be effective in treating people who have a specific type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

An antibiotic used to treat infective diarrhoea may be an effective drug for a type of inflammatory bowel disease, according to a new study. 

Researchers from the University of Birmingham, UK, showed that an antibiotic called vancomycin may also be effective in treating people who have a specific type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which develops due to an incurable autoimmune liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

Notably, four in five patients who participated in the study achieved remission after taking the drug as part of a clinical trial published in the Journal of Crohn's and Colitis.

The study is significant, as several participants with this disease had not responded to other IBD treatments.

Moreover, IBD and PSC are closely correlated, with most individuals who have PSC developing IBD, and up to 14 per cent of patients with IBD also developing PSC.

Together, the condition raised the need for colon surgery and or developing colon or liver cancer, which would them need a liver transplant. It also raises the overall risk of death.

"Our findings suggest that vancomycin could offer a new therapeutic option for patients with this challenging combination of IBD and autoimmune liver disease," said Dr. Mohammed Nabil Quraishi from the University of Birmingham.

During the trial, participants were treated with oral antibiotics for four weeks. About 80 per cent of patients achieved clinical remission after the treatment.

They also showed a significant decrease in inflammatory markers, and 100 per cent showed mucosal healing.

However, when the treatment was stopped after 8 weeks, the symptoms returned.

Vancomycin was also shown to induce changes in certain bile acids, which are now being further investigated to develop and refine treatments for IBD-associated PSC.

Although the results are preliminary, they provide a strong foundation for further research, said the team.

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