Written by: Laura Beasley, Legal Assistant
Law Offices of Thomas J. Lamb, P.A.
The recent UPI article, “Common Meds Alter Microbiome, Increase Antibiotic Resistance Risk”, informs that there are classes of popular medications that can have an effect on a person’s gastrointestinal tract by altering its bacterial composition of approximately 1,000 species. Several health conditions have been a result of this interaction, such as: obesity, diabetes, liver diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. In knowing this, Arnau Vich Vila, lead researcher at the University Medical Center Groningen, noted that, "It is crucial to understand which are the consequences of medication use in the gut microbiome".
The Study
We learn from the UPI article that Dutch researchers studied 41 common categories of drugs, 18 of which had significant effects on the gut microbiome and 8 that increased the risk of antimicrobial resistance. Some of these were laxatives that are used to treat and prevent constipation. We know MiraLAX (PEG 3350) to fall under this category.
A part of the study they, "assessed 1,883 fecal samples from people who did and didn't take the drugs, including some with irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, and inflammatory bowel disease, IBD".
According to the article, Arnau Vich Vila stated the following in a news release,
Our work highlights the importance of considering the role of the gut microbiota when designing treatments and also points to new hypotheses that could explain certain side-effects associated with medication use.
How to Connect MiraLAX
When the gut is "off" per-say, many other things in the body can, in turn, be "off" as well. So, we can see how this might point to the possible connection between MiraLAX and neuropsychological problems.
It is refreshing to see that there is a study such as this one, that can give some sort of perspective on how the use of a category of medications like laxatives may result in effects other than what is intended. You can refer to our August article, "Will the FDA Ever Push the MiraLAX Pediatric Study?" to learn more about the concerns of PEG 3350 affecting children's health.
For Parents and the Curious Public
If you are a parent or other family member that has concerns about a child in the family taking MiraLAX, you may want to consider joining the Facebook group called “Parents Against Miralax”.
As always, we will continue to monitor the MiraLAX situation and provide you with any new or relevant information.
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