Cera Products Newsletter #4

We’ve all seen the commercials of the man trapped – in the carpool, at the movies, on a tour bus – with diarrhea. This ad has hit home, as at one time or another; we’ve all been in that awkward situation. But for some people, upset stomachs, diarrhea, abdominal pain or constipation are more than mere interruptions.

For these 60 million Americans digestive disease is a way of life. In fact, digestive diseases cost the nation more than $60 billion per year; $45 million of that outlay is for direct medical expenses such as hospitalizations and medications. And an estimated 200,000 deaths and approximately 13 percent of all hospital admissions are due to digestive diseases and their resulting complications.

What are these digestive diseases? Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders that cause inflammation or ulceration in the small and large intestines. Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are the most commonly known types of IBD. Short bowel syndrome, and ileostomy/colostomy are other severe conditions.

Crohn’s Disease

With Crohn’s disease, painful ulcers form in one or more sections, or all along the length of the gastrointestinal lining. Thick scar tissue is formed when the ulcers heal causing poor assimilation of nutrients and adversely affecting elimination as scar tissue narrows and hardens in the digestive tract. This can be a debilitating chronic illness and it affects males and females about equally. Approximately 20 percent of people with Crohn’s disease have a blood relative with some form of IBD, most often a brother or sister and sometimes a parent or child.

Evidence suggests that patients with this disease have abnormalities of the immune system, but doctors do not know whether immune problems are a cause or a result of the disease. Abdominal pain and diarrhea are the most common symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Rectal bleeding, weight loss, and fever may also result. Persistent bleeding may lead to anemia. Children who get the disease may become developmentally delayed and suffer stunted growth. Drug therapy can be helpful in controlling Crohn’s disease.

Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis, also called colitis, ileitis or proctitis, causes inflammation and ulcers in the top layers of the lining of the large intestine. The inflammation usually occurs in the rectum and lower part of the colon, but it may affect the entire colon. (Unlike Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis rarely affects the small intestine except for the lower section, called the ileum.) The inflammation makes the colon empty frequently, causing diarrhea. Ulcers form in places where the inflammation has killed colon-lining cells; the ulcers bleed and produce pus and mucus.

Ulcerative colitis occurs most often in people ages 15 to 40, although children and older people sometimes develop the disease. It affects men and women equally and appears to run in some families.

The most common symptoms of ulcerative colitis are abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. Patients also may experience fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, rectal bleeding, and loss of body fluids and nutrients. Most people are treated with medication. In severe cases, a patient may need surgery to remove the diseased colon. Surgery is the only cure for ulcerative colitis.

Short Bowel Syndrome

Short bowel syndrome is a group of problems affecting people who have had half or more of their small intestine removed. The most common reason for removing part of the small intestine is to treat Crohn’s disease.

Diarrhea is the main symptom of short bowel syndrome. Other symptoms include cramping, bloating, and heartburn. Many people with short bowel syndrome are malnourished because their remaining small intestine is unable to absorb enough water, vitamins, and other nutrients from food. They may also become dehydrated, which can be life threatening. Problems associated with dehydration and malnutrition include weakness, fatigue, depression, weight loss, bacterial infections and food sensitivities.

Short bowel syndrome is treated through changes in diet, intravenous feeding, vitamin and mineral supplements, and medicine to relieve symptoms.

Ileostomy/Colostomy

Sometimes treatment for Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or polyps requires removing all or part of the intestines. When the intestines are removed, the body needs a new way for stool to leave the body, so the surgeon creates an opening in the abdomen for stool to pass through. The surgery to create the new opening is called ostomy. The opening is called a stoma.

When the colon and rectum are removed, the bottom of the small intestine (ileum) is attached to the stoma. When the rectum is removed, the surgeon performs a colostomy to attach the colon to the stoma.

Dehydration

Dehydration is a serious problem for people with chronic digestive conditions. As fluid leaves the body’s cells, it must be replaced to restore both composition and volume. Plain water, tea, soda and juice are not effective in replacing what the body loses during diarrhea and vomiting, as they do not have the needed electrolytes, and sweet drinks can actually increase the fluid losses.

A better method is an Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), a scientifically formulated blend of sugar or cereal, salts and water that matches the fluids lost. In fact, the renowned British medical journal, The Lancet, called an ORS the "miracle solution of this century" because it is an effective, simple and low cost way to prevent death or serious consequences from dehydration. And the World Health Organization has deemed ORS the recommended treatment for any kind of diarrhea worldwide.

If used early, at the onset of the diarrhea episode, an ORS can prevent dehydration and the need for hospitalization. And rice-based oral electrolyte rehydration solutions have been recognized as the most effective type of ORS for heavy fluid losses.

Rice-based solutions enhance absorption to rapidly restore fluid volume and cell function, thereby promoting early recovery of intestinal function. Compared with glucose (and especially over "just any fluid,") rice-based ORS solutions reduce fluid losses by 20 to 30 percent, shorten diarrhea episodes approximately by about one day, and promote a quicker recovery.

CeraLyte to the Rescue

CeraLyte, a rice-based ORS that meets World Health Organization standards, has been proven to be the ideal ORS to treat the dehydration due to diarrhea that often accompanies IBD. And it has really helped those with digestive diseases, where dehydration poses a serious threat.

Developed by Cera Products along with physicians from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, CeraLyte is available as a powder that can be reconstituted with water. It comes in five flavors, three sodium strengths (50mEq/L, 70mEq/L, 90mEq/L) and two packet sizes (single cup size or pitcher-size). CeraLyte powder is stirred into hot or cold drinking water.

For Crohn’s and chronic diarrhea, CeraLyte-70 is usually recommended. CeraLyte-90 is used in heavy purging, while CeraLyte-50 is a more moderate formula like PediaLyte.

Cera Lyte’s patented formula works faster than glucose-based solutions. Because of its low osmolality, it delivers salts, water and nutrients more efficiently. Overall, the product’s quick absorption rate helps shorten the length of the illness and the amount of fluid loss by 20 to 30 percent.

According to Dr. David Sack, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Hygiene, "CeraLyte is the best of the products with which we are familiar... It works better, and people like CeraLyte because it is better tasting."
For patients requiring total parenteral nutrition (TPN), CeraLyte enables fewer tube feedings, thereby improving the quality of life.

"From the reports we get from gastroenterologists at The Mayo Clinic, patients who received CeraLyte for the treatment of Crohn’s and short bowel syndrome were able to maintain hydration status and may not need further hospitalization," adds Dr. Sack.

Dr. William B. Greenough, Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University Geriatrics Center, explained, "Evidence suggests that using a food-based formula helps decrease the recovery time following bowel surgery and the recovery rate from IBD, as well as from dysentery. CeraLyte helps avoid the need for intravenous therapy, and prevents dehydration and the need for hospitalization."

"An elderly patient of mine, a man in his eighties, had been hospitalized six times in three months because his colostomy and ileostomy were causing large amounts of fluid loss," Dr. Greenough added about the father of another physician. "After CeraLyte, the patient was able to stay out of the hospital for the remainder of his life."

Overall, CeraLyte can help get us out of those awkward moments when we have diarrhea, and it can significantly improve the quality of life for people with digestive diseases.

Resources for Information on Crohn’s Disease and other Digestive Diseases:

National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse
2 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3570
(301) 654-3810
E-mail: nddic@info.niddk.nih.gov

International Foundation for Functional Gastric Disorders
P.O. Box 17864
Milwaukee, WI 53217
Telephone: (888) 964-2001
(414) 964-1799
E-Mail: iffgd@exepc.com

Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, National Headquarters
386 Park Avenue South, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10016-8804
Telephone: (800) 932-2423;
(212) 685-3440

The Oley Foundation
Albany Medical Center, A-28
214 Hun Memorial
Albany, NY 12208-3478
Telephone: (518) 262-5079,
(800) 776-OLEY
E-Mail: bishopj@mail.amc.edu

Digestive Disease Facts:

According to the National Diseases Information Clearinghouse at the National Institutes of Health:

• About 60 million Americans are affected by digestive diseases.

• An estimated 200,000 deaths and approximately 13 percent of all hospital admissions are due to digestive diseases and their resulting complications.

• Digestive diseases cost the nation more than $60 billion per year; $45 million of that outlay is for direct medical expenses such as hospital organizations and medications.

• Rice-based oral electrolyte solutions, such as CeraLyte ®, have been shown to be very effective in reducing volume and duration of diarrhea.

CeraLyte: Digestive Disease Testimonials

"This is the first product that gave me any relief after over a year of constant, severe diarrhea. Didn’t cure but sure cut down on frequency. Now after treatment and proper diagnosis, I am fine. I attribute Cera as the road to my recovery from a most undesirable and uncomfortable disorder. Thanks to whomever is responsible for the development of Cera."
Cora F., Pennsylvania

"I’m 47 years old and have had Crohn’s Disease since I was 18. There have been moments when I wanted to throw in the towel. I think that God in his wisdom caused me to hang on because of you Charlene [Riikonen, president of Cera Products]. My life has been made easier because of CeraLyte, and I usually drink 3 liters of it a day."
Terry C., Minnesota

"CeraLyte has been a lifesaver for me. I have Short Bowel Syndrome. I spent 53 days in the hospital, being fed through veins to try to build me up so I could go home. I got down to 90 lbs. I went home and was back in the hospital. I talked to a nurse at the Mayo Clinic and was told about CeraLyte and dehydration. We ordered the sample packages and after the first day, I could tell the improvement at once. My doctors could not believe the change in me, the following week. I am up to 110 lbs. and now back to work. I do great these days, but have my CeraLyte everyday. I mix it with Crystal Light. I do keep busy, thanks to CeraLyte, I am living a full productive life."
Rose G., Houma, LA

Cera Products