News:
January 2006 - Site News: Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. announced that a late-stage trial designed to evaluate XIFAXAN for the treatment of C. diff-Associated Diarrhea (CDAD) has started. The 300-subject Phase III trial investigates the efficacy and safety of XIFAXAN (rifaximin), dosed 400 mg three times daily, for the treatment of CDAD in a vancomycin comparator.
(Salix Pharmaceuticals Newsroom, January 11, 2006)
November 2005 - Site News: A canadian study identified fluoroquinolones as the most important risk factor for C. diff-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Since 2002, an epidemic of CDAD associated with a high case-fatality rate has involved more than 30 hospitals in the province of Quebec, Canada. Based on a retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalized in one of the hospitals, fluoroquinolones emerged as the antibiotics most strongly associated with CDAD.
(J Pépin et al. Emergence of fluoroquinolones as the predominant risk factor for Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea: A cohort study during an epidemic in Quebec. Clinical Infectious Deseases 2005;41:1254-60)
October 2005 - Site News: Pittsburgh paper reported that a new strain of resistant C. diff has been confirmed in 15 states as the source of increased rates in C. diff cases dating back at least four years.
(L Fabregas. 'Superbug' infecting area patients. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 29, 2005)
October 2005 - Site News: A study published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology suggests intravenous vancomycin as salvage therapy in refractory pseudomembranous colitis. The authors reported cases of successfully treating C. diff patients unresponsive to oral vancomycin and intravenous metronidazole with intravenous vancomycin.
(S Gupta, JS Freiman. Intravenous vancomycin as salvage therapy in refractory pseudomembranous colitis.
Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2005;20:A29)
September 2005 - Site News: A recent study characterised the dominant strain of an epidemic of C diff-associated disease(CDAD) with increased morbidity and mortalityin Quebec, Canada, since 2002, to determine whether it produces higher amounts of toxins A and B than those produced by non-epidemic strains. The results suggest that the severity of CDAD caused by this strain could result from hyperproduction of toxins A and B.
(M Warny et al. Toxin production by an emerging strain of Clostridium difficile assoiated with outbreaks of severe disease in North America and Europe. Lancet 2005;366:1079-84)
January 2000 - Site News: A new clindamycin-resistent strain of C. difficile has been identified to be responsible for outbreaks of nosocomial diarrhea at hospitals in four states.
(CM Olsen. New strain of resistant C difficile identified. Pulmonary Reviews 2000; 5)
March 1999 - Site News: This study attempts to evaluate the risk factors for a more prolonged and complicated course of C. diff-associated disease. Functional disability, cognitive impairment, and recent colonoscopy were identified as risk factors for severity of CDAD.
(Factors associated with prolonged symptoms and severe disease due to Clostridium difficile. Age and Aging 1999;28: 107-113)
4/14/2002 - Site News: We just received
confirmation from one of our long-time visitors and sufferers of c. difficile
that Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
http://www.bidmc.harvard.edu/medicine/researchprograms/gastroenterologyrp.htm
is testing an experimental C. difficile vaccine that is effective in inducing
anti-toxin antibody responses in healthy volunteers. They have an ongoing
trial in Boston in patients with recurrent C. difficile colitis. To date one
subject with multiple relapses has completed the study and was able to
discontinue vancomycin at the end of his vaccine course.
4/12/2002 - Site News: This just in from
Mucovax. "In May a clinical trial starts in the Netherlands to test the
efficacy or our cow's milk-derived whey product containing specific polyclonal
antibodies against C.diff bacteria and its toxins A and B." Dr . L. Thörig
MBA, Medical Director MucoVax. Many of you
probably noticed that there has been no newsletter going out in the last couple
months. The founders of the website were recently "visited by the stork"
and are enjoying a new little one. Those of you who have children know
what that means! When things get settled a little more - we'll get a new
edition of the newsletter/ezine out.
2/27/2002 - Site News: GelTex is starting
Phase 2 Clinical Trials with toxin binding treatment. Go to
www.centerwatch.com to find out about
clinical trials. Recently, we have noticed a trend of younger people &
teens coming up positive for clostridium difficile colitis. This is not
entirely surprising, as the trend has been more evident in past years. We
just released the February 2002 edition of the Clostridium Difficile Foundation
Newsletter/Ezine. You can subscribe from the home page.
1/5/2002 - Happy New Year: to all of you!
It is truly time for a fresh start.
Synsorb is done with C. Diff. The members area is growing.
Proctor and Gamble has donated a "medicine delivery vehicle technology" to
the Mayo Clinic that will better deliver medicine directly to the colon.
Thanks P&G - THAT is BIG for c. diff!
Mucovax has released a report on their antibody technology. Dr. Borody
of Australia has completed his Probiotic Therapy
Research Centre. He uses a specialized technique for treating c.
difficile.
12/11/01 - Site News: Well, we had high hopes
for quite some time that Synsorb was going to provide us a new, effective
treatment for c. difficile. They announced yesterday that they are
"terminating the SYNSORB-CD development program". This comes as a hard
blow to sufferers of c. difficile. They have been a sponsor of the
Clostridium Difficile Support Group for quite some time as well. This puts
us on the lookout for another major sponsor. Synsorb has not yet notified
us of their intention to terminate sponsorship - but we expect word about that
soon. The Membership program will help fill the void - but it is not as
consistent as the Synsorb sponsorship. To find out more about why Synsorb
has made this decision, click here.
11/20/01 - Site News: We've
kept all the old good stuff and added great new features and benefits in a
special "Members Area" you will be sure to enjoy.
11/11/01 - Site News: The C. Diff Support
Group was recently interviewed by our local CBS news channel about the overuse
of antibiotics and anthrax scare. Finally, we are making some progress in
spreading the word via the media. We are going to create a "membership"
soon. Don't worry, the same features that you had before will still be
there - but we will be offering new benefits, discounts & features that go along
with membership. Stay tuned!
10/31/01 - Happy Halloween!: Anthrax scare is
increasing antibiotic usage. Do not stockpile or take antibiotics
unnecessarily! If you do - you are contributing to the increase in c.
difficile and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Be careful out there tonight!
BOO!
10/11/01 - Site News: The old discussion
board has left us. The new one is all that is available now. We are
sorry - evidently, the free hosting company that hosted it has either gone out
of business or just given up. Fortunately we built the new one long before
that happened.
9/11/01 - World News - special section:
We are deeply saddened, shocked and mourn the
loss of all the family, friends and coworkers in the terrorist attack against
our Great Nation and INNOCENT people.
Rest assured that those responsible will suffer
grave consequences when the United States of America enacts swift justice and
hands it back to them in spades!
In it's darkest moment, the United States of
America has UNIFIED stronger than ever. The terrorist's actions have
backfired against them - as they will soon realize - when they are eradicated
from Planet Earth. We shall never forget.
Buy
a U.S. Flag and hang it outside your home to show your support! Put one on
your car too!
8/30/01 - Site News: We've been
approaching 40,000 hits per month and you will see the running total stats for
the month listed on the home page.
8/24/01 - Site News: The
new discussion/bulletin board
is officially open! It features a lot more features such as; message
search and e-mail notification service. The old board will be referred to
as an archive board. There is a ton of info still there - so we will keep
it open for reading only. You can post new messages to the new board.
If you have been to the Nutrition
and Supplements page, you will see that we are conducting a poll. We
are trying to see how much demand there would be for additional supplements for
you to purchase through this site. We already offer Immune 26 and Immune
Support on the page - which can be ordered directly
from the manufacturer. There are several others we feel would be
beneficial - but we are not sure if it would be feasible to stock, fill orders
and ship them. That may cost us more than it would benefit the site.
Those of you who have been with us for a while, have seen
the changes and have grown with us. It is still the same little group that
runs this place though. Our hearts are still deeply in it. We strive
to keep updating and providing more user-friendly avenues to help you cope with
the c.diff. Our traffic has increased significantly - mostly due to the
effect of the over-use of antibiotics. We hope that some day this site
will not be necessary. I would much rather be out playing in the sun
somewhere - while knowing that all of you are healed! But we will stick
with you keeping the site running the best we can with what little resources we
come across. Thanks to all of you and best of health!
8/04/01 - Site News: We have stumbled
across a newer company which offers a product that supports the immune system.
The information on the product is very interesting. It claims to help
support the immune system by introducing natural antibodies and immune cofactors
which balance and support the immune system. The company is called Legacy
for Life and the product is BioChoice.
We have also secured a new hosting company which should
save money and improve our ability to expand the site and make it better.
8/01/01 - Site News: Significant progress
is being made on the site. We have added two additional pages. One
is for donations - as suggested by our visitors. The other is the creation
of a Supplements & Nutrition page. We have separated the Sponsors,
Treatments and Products page. Now, the Sponsors page is dedicated solely
to our sponsors. Within a couple weeks we will be listing popular
supplements and nutritional products that have been mentioned by our visitors
here at the Clostridium Difficile Support Group. Please note that there is
no cure for c. diff. The products are simply going to be a compilation of
supplements that have been commonly used and are increasingly popular by people
who have suffered. You will be able to order the products right here at
www.cdiffsupport.com. We will
directly ship to you, and best of all, the proceeds support this web site.
We had to do something, as we are lacking on sponsorship. The supplements
are just that....supplements. They are not to replace proper medical
attention and proper, "proven" medication (that one was tough to type!).
We are working very hard to improve the site to serve a growing and concerned
audience. Thank you for being there with us!
7/27/01 - Site News: We have been working
on solutions to improve the
www.cdiffsupport.com site. Clostridium Difficile is growing faster
than ever. More and more people who weren't at risk before are showing
positive for C. Diff. Here at the Clostridium Difficile Support Group, we
want to give you the best, up to date information possible. We are
presently working on creating an improved bulletin / discussion board with
search capability. We are searching for a new company for hosting options.
Our Products and Sponsors page is due for some additions as well.
Currently, we are in the process of contacting different companies that offer
products which are key in the fight against c diff. Synsorb is currently
our sole sponsor and we are grateful for their help to keep our site afloat.
Their trials are promising and we are confident that they will prevail with the
first non-antibiotic approved treatment for clostridium difficile colitis.
We are also looking for doctors or naturopathic doctors to contribute to our
site - this will benefit them as they would gain exposure while helping us
provide specific information.
News Archives Link
Copyright
2001-2002, Clostridium Difficile Foundation/Clostridium Difficile Support Group .
08/10/2002