The 11-CD Set Includes:

DISC 1: Making Sense of Probiotics
Stephen Olmstead, MD
Chief Science Officer
Klaire Labs, a division of ProThera, Inc.

Overview of gastrointestinal microecology, the microbiology of probiotics, and industrial production considerations.



DISC 2: A Century of Probiotics
Lynne V. McFarland, PhD 
VA Research Health Science Specialist and Affiliate Associate Professor, VA Puget Sound Healthcare System and University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Summarizes the history of probiotics from antiquity to present including Dr. Elie Metchnikoff’s insights on the role of probiotic bacteria in the health benefits of fermented foods. A review of probiotics on the market, associated health claims, safety data, and product quality.



DISC 3: Probiotics: The Clinical Evidence
Lynne V. McFarland, PhD
VA Research Health Science Specialist and Affiliate Associate Professor, VA Puget Sound Healthcare System and University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

An overview of laboratory and clinical evidence for the efficacy of probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhea, Clostridium difficile-associated disease, pediatric diarrhea, traveler’s diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, and other disorders.



DISC 4: Gut, Immunity, and Probiotics in Infancy and Childhood
José Saavedra, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Vice President, Medical and Scientific Affairs, Nestlé North America

Review of the use of probiotics in infancy and childhood for necrotizing enterocolitis, rotavirus, pediatric diarrhea, allergies, and other disorders.



DISC 5 & 6: Day One: Panel Discussion
Drs. McFarland, Saavedra, and Olmstead respond to questions on probiotic history, selection, characteristics, clinical studies, and clinical applications in children and adults.



DISC 7: Probiotics in the Biomedical Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders
David Traver, MD, FAAP
Private practice devoted to the care of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders,
Foster City, California

Overview of the gastrointestinal abnormalities prevalent in Autism Spectrum Disorders including colonization by clostridial species, symptom response to oral antibiotics, and discussion of the potential role of probiotics in the biomedical treatment of autism.



DISC 8: Combining Pro- and Prebiotics to Control Acute and Chronic Disease
Stig Bengmark, MD, PhD
Emeritus Professor, Lund University, Sweden
Visiting Professor, University College London, Surgery and Hepatology,
London, United Kingdom

A review of how dietary and lifestyle disruptions of the normal intestinal microflora may contribute to the acute and chronic diseases of postindustrial societies. Also discusses the potential role of probiotics, prebiotics, and their combinations (synbiotics) in the prevention and treatment of these disorders.



DISC 9: Immunosuppressant-associated Diarrhea (IAD):
A Putative Role for Probiotics
William H. Marks, MD, PhD
Robert B. McMillen Chair and Director, Organ Transplantation and the Laboratory for Transplantation Biology, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, Washington

An overview of the epidemiology and possible pathogenesis of
immunosuppressant-associated diarrhea (IAD) and proposed hypothetical mechanism by which probiotics may reduce the incidence and severity of IAD following organ transplantation.


      
DISC 10: Gastrointestinal Diseases: The Case for Probiotics
Philippe Marteau, MD, PhD
Professor of Hepatogastroenterology, Paris V University and Hôpital Lariboisière, Paris, France

Summary of randomized, controlled trials and pharmacokinetic studies on the safety and efficacy of probiotics to treat and prevent gastrointestinal diseases and the potential for using new microbial agents or genetically modified microorganisms.



DISC 11: Day Two: Panel Discussion
Drs. Bengmark, Marks, Marteau, and Traver respond to questions on the use of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics for the prevention of acute and chronic disease with a focus on gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, immunosuppressant-associated gastrointestinal disorder and intestinal abnormalities in children on the autism spectrum.