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News in brief - Aug. 15, 2005

ACIP expands high-risk groups targeted for flu vaccination - Good bacteria may relieve ulcerative colitis

ACIP expands high-risk groups targeted for flu vaccination

Any patient who has a medical condition that can impact respiratory function and increase the risk of influenza complications, including cognitive dysfunction, spinal cord injuries and seizure disorders, should receive a flu shot, according to recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices published in the July 13 Morbidity and Mortality Report.

The committee also urged all health care workers to be vaccinated annually and that hospitals and other health care facilities provide the vaccine in a way that increases the number of people who receive it.

Additional endorsement was given to the intranasal vaccine. The ACIP called for those eligible for this vaccine to take advantage of it during times of shortfalls in supply. In times of plenty, both the intranasal and injectable should be utilized.

Recommendations for how the vaccine should be prioritized by risk factors this season are expected later this summer, when the number of shots expected becomes more certain.

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Good bacteria may relieve ulcerative colitis

A probiotic mixture twice daily could relieve the symptoms of those with mild to moderate forms of ulcerative colitis, according to a paper published in the July issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

"Bad bacteria" might have long been thought of as a culprit in this disease, but researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada, treated 34 patients who had not responded to other treatments with "good bacteria" -- twice-daily doses of eight lactic acid bacterial species. Eighteen patients experienced remission, and another eight had a reduction in their symptoms. Three didn't get any better, and another three got worse. There were no adverse events.

This trial was "open label," and the authors since have launched a randomized placebo-controlled trial to further confirm the efficacy of this treatment.

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