Biofilms and Strep

[mama2alex]

Our DAN doctor told me about biofilms today. He said they're a layer of protein and sugars produced by strep (and other bacteria) that help it resist antibiotics. He said it also attracts calcium, magnesium and iron, which somehow help to protect it - I can't remember exactly what he said about that. He's putting my son on a protocol of digestive enzymes, EDTA, a fiber supplement and a garlic supplement to help break these up and make the strep more vulnerable to the antibiotics and immune system.

 

Has anyone else heard of this and/or been on a similar protocol?

 

Here's a link to the Wikipedia definition and a paragraph on formation of biofilms:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofilm

 

Formation of a biofilm begins with the attachment of free-floating microorganisms to a surface. These first colonists adhere to the surface initially through weak, reversible van der Waals forces. If the colonists are not immediately separated from the surface, they can anchor themselves more permanently using cell adhesion structures such as pili.[5]

 

The first colonists facilitate the arrival of other cells by providing more diverse adhesion sites and beginning to build the matrix that holds the biofilm together. Some species are not able to attach to a surface on their own but are often able to anchor themselves to the matrix or directly to earlier colonists. It is during this colonization that the cells are able to communicate via quorum sensing using such products as AHL. Once colonization has begun, the biofilm grows through a combination of cell division and recruitment. The final stage of biofilm formation is known as development, and is the stage in which the biofilm is established and may only change in shape and size. This development of biofilm allows for the cells to become more antibiotic resistant.

[peglem]

Here is a link to a presentation about biofilms at a DAN conference:

 

http://www.autism.com/danwebcast/videoflv....=640&VID=80

 

I don't know if my daughter has biofilms or not- but I looked into this quite a bit awhile back. I tend to think now that she probably has intracellular strep. She's a "carrier" so its probably one of those. She doesn't seem to have gut dysbiosis so I lean toward intracellular.

 

Either way, though, zith seems to be the antibiotic that deals best with these issues- at least according to the science. Don't know how well other abx have been tested in this regard.

[galien407]

Our DAN doctor told me about biofilms today. He said they're a layer of protein and sugars produced by strep (and other bacteria) that help it resist antibiotics. He said it also attracts calcium, magnesium and iron, which somehow help to protect it - I can't remember exactly what he said about that. He's putting my son on a protocol of digestive enzymes, EDTA, a fiber supplement and a garlic supplement to help break these up and make the strep more vulnerable to the antibiotics and immune system.

 

Has anyone else heard of this and/or been on a similar protocol?

 

We did the biofilm protocol for about 9 months. My son's DNASE went down but then shot back up again, so we did IVIG and haven't done biofilm protocol since then. The theory is that the biofilm is a mucus-like substance (like a raw egg white) that surrounds and protects the yeast, bacteria and viruses within, and makes it difficult for any antimicrobial products to penetrate through the coating and kill the bad stuff inside.

 

You take the EDTA, garlic, and enzyme on an empty stomach to attack the biofilm; wait about 30 - 45 min and take the antibiotic to attack the "newly naked" strep bacteria. Then take the pectin fiber supplement an hour after that to grab hold of the strep bacteria, etc., and carry it out of the body.

 

Ideally, this whole process should be done twice per day. We could only fit it in once per day on school days, and twice per day on weekends.

 

Hope this helps...

Mary

[mama2alex]

Our DAN doctor told me about biofilms today. He said they're a layer of protein and sugars produced by strep (and other bacteria) that help it resist antibiotics. He said it also attracts calcium, magnesium and iron, which somehow help to protect it - I can't remember exactly what he said about that. He's putting my son on a protocol of digestive enzymes, EDTA, a fiber supplement and a garlic supplement to help break these up and make the strep more vulnerable to the antibiotics and immune system.

 

Has anyone else heard of this and/or been on a similar protocol?

 

We did the biofilm protocol for about 9 months. My son's DNASE went down but then shot back up again, so we did IVIG and haven't done biofilm protocol since then. The theory is that the biofilm is a mucus-like substance (like a raw egg white) that surrounds and protects the yeast, bacteria and viruses within, and makes it difficult for any antimicrobial products to penetrate through the coating and kill the bad stuff inside.

 

You take the EDTA, garlic, and enzyme on an empty stomach to attack the biofilm; wait about 30 - 45 min and take the antibiotic to attack the "newly naked" strep bacteria. Then take the pectin fiber supplement an hour after that to grab hold of the strep bacteria, etc., and carry it out of the body.

 

Ideally, this whole process should be done twice per day. We could only fit it in once per day on school days, and twice per day on weekends.

 

Hope this helps...

Mary

 

Thanks for responding - this is helpful. Do you think the protocol was working and then your son got a new infection? Or do you think the protocol stopped working? Did you see a reduction of symptoms along with the change in titers?

 

How has your son done since IVIG?

 

The protocol he gave us is a little different - same stuff, but more complicated timing. We'll see if it does anything

[mama2alex]

Peglem,

 

Thanks for posting the link! I watched half her presentation the other night and it's very interesting. I'll watch the rest as soon as I have a chance. Do you have any info on intracellular strep that you can post? I had never heard of it until this forum.

 

 

 

Here is a link to a presentation about biofilms at a DAN conference:

 

http://www.autism.com/danwebcast/videoflv....=640&VID=80

 

I don't know if my daughter has biofilms or not- but I looked into this quite a bit awhile back. I tend to think now that she probably has intracellular strep. She's a "carrier" so its probably one of those. She doesn't seem to have gut dysbiosis so I lean toward intracellular.

 

Either way, though, zith seems to be the antibiotic that deals best with these issues- at least according to the science. Don't know how well other abx have been tested in this regard.

[peglem]

I think Buster is the one with the intracellular strep info.

 

Edited to add that I just found this from Buster on the helpful threads thread.

 

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/508773