SYMPTOMS
of Blastocystis hominis.
References for Doctors & Researchers
A special thanks to Jackie Delaney.
BadBugs.org
Treatment Suggestions: http://www.badbugs.org/Blasto_treating.htm
Blastocystis hominis has previously been considered as yeasts, fungi, or ameboid, flagellated, or sporozoan protozoa. Recent molecular studies dealing with the sequence information on the complete SSUrRNA gene, however, have placed B. hominis with an informal group: the stramenopiles (Silberman et al. 1996). Stramenopiles include unicellular and multicellular protistes including brown algae, diatoms, chrysophytes, water molds, slime nets, etc. (Patterson, 1994).
With Blastocystis hominis capable of assuming numerous biological forms, the symptoms of its presence can vary between individuals and within the same individual over time. It will share symptoms with Candida ablbicans and may encourage the latter. It may share symptoms with amoeba or bacteria and may temporarily appear to be choleric.
With the distraction and weakening of the immune function through decreased assimilation, disrupted elimination, and increased toxins in the blood and lymph, any predisposed genetic weaknesses will be heightened, and, any background parasitic presence or organ weaknesses will be heightened. Compacted stools and constipation may replace the more usual loose stools. Any and all of these possibilities complicate the expression of symptoms and lessen the likelihood of accurate diagnosis and treatment.
B. hominis was first described in 1911, but may have been mistaken for “cholera bodies” as early as 1949. B. hominis was thought to be a yeast or a fungus until 1996, when a small piece of ribosomal RNA analysis placed it in the group of protozoa known as stramenopiles. Aside from resemblance of its rRNA, B. hominis does not share many similarities with the other stramenopiles. More recent analysis support the Stramenopile classification.
"... feeling ill and weak, and suffering " bad headaches on the right side of my head that I felt as if I was having a stroke. I am only 27 years old and I felt like I was 80. I was weak, light headed, I had a low grade fever, terrible stomach cramps, I lost my appetite, could not sleep, I was losing weight, dizziness and light-headedness."
"fatigue, low energy levels, soft stool" and "poor memory/mental fogginess"
My symptoms were largely related to what appeared to be dysbiosis:
bloating, poor digestion, alternating bouts of diarrhoea and constipation, depression, mood wings, vicious cravings for starches and sugars and an all-round feeling of lethargy and heaviness. I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, candida-related complex, depression, leaky-gut syndrome and liver dysfunction. I stopped menstruating four years ago, and my libido completely disappeared. The gastrointestinal symptoms would come and go, but worsened over time. I found that the only relief gained from the symptoms was when I cut out reactive foods (the list became longer and longer as the years went by) or if I stopped eating altogether. I became hooked on laxatives, and believe that my desperation to halt the ongoing problem was a key factor in my subsequent development of an eating disorder.
The symptoms persisted, ... My stomach had ballooned to the size of a pregnant woman's, I experienced nausea from time-to-time and I was incredibly low on energy. I was battling severe crying spells and depression, coupled with shocking indigestion.
Blastocystis hominis and bowel diseases.
Turkiye Parazitol Derg., 2006;30(1):72-76
"The clinical consequences of B. hominis infection are mainly diarrhea and abdominal pain as well as nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, anorexia, vomiting, weight loss, lassitude, dizziness, and flatulence. Case reports and series have suggested a pathogenic role of B. hominis in causing intestinal inflammation. Also some studies have suggested that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are associated with B. hominis infection. The investigators indicate that the stools of all patients presenting with IBD or IBS should be examined, and culture methods for B. hominis carried out. Invasion and mucosal inflammation of the intestine with B. hominis have been observed in studies of gnotobiotic guinea pigs."
April 2002 - Biomedical Scientist.
In patients diagnosed with chronic irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), faecal samples are placed directly into fixative and then stained with an iron haematoxylin. Using this technique, 40% of IBS patients were shown to be infected with B. hominis.
Blastocystis hominis modulates immune responses
and cytokine release in colonic epithelial cells
by H.Y. Long et al
(Parasitology Res (2001) 87: 1029-1030)
It might be speculated that B.hominis downregulates the host immune responses in the early phase of the infection, in order to improve its survival. This seems to be a common evasion mechanism of parasites, as it has also been demonstrated for Toxoplasma gondii (Denney et al. 1999). Further it may also be expected that this effect of B.hominis could indirectly facilitate the progress of infection by other opportunistic pathogens. The results presented here indicate that B.hominis is able to induce and modulate the production of inflammatory cytokines in intestinal epithelial cells.
Establishing Cultures of Entamoeba in vitro
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 2000
Blastocystis hominis may be the most common parasitic infection of humans. This organism is often missed on stool examination but grows luxuriantly in all the media used to cultivate xenic Entamoeba.
Urticaria by Blastocystis hominis.
Armentia A, et al.
Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) 1993 Jul-Aug;21(4):149-51
Urticaria and angioedema are easily recognized disorders, but in at least 70 percent of individuals, chronic episodes of urticaria are of unknown causes. We present 10 cases of chronic urticaria associated parasitation by Blastocystis hominis. This parasite has not been previously related with urticaria.
[Urticaria (hives) consists of localised swelling on the skin often accompanied by an itchy rash. The symptoms usually last for a few hours before eventually fading away.]
A special thanks to Jennifer Miller.
Stanford University
http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2003/
Blastocystis%20Hominis/Blastocystis%20Hominis.htm
Morphology:
The vacuolated form (that is found in stool samples used for diagnostics) is the most common form found in the host. Unicellular, it is 5-30 microns in diameter, with the usual range being 8-10 microns. Blastocystis is usually spherical, oval, or ellipsoidal, with usually one, but sometimes two to four nuclei located in the rim of the cytoplasm. In bi-nucleated cells, the two nuclei might be at opposite poles. Cells contain a large central body, or vacuole, with a thin rim of cytoplasm around the periphery. Occasionally, a ring of granules can be found in the cytoplasm, and the cell appears to have a “beaded” rim.
At least five other forms are said to exist, many of which can also be found in the fecal material of infected individuals.
Life Cycle:
The life cycle of blastocystis remains poorly understood. Through experimentation done by Stenzel and Boreham (5), it has been suggested that binary fission is the only possible means of reproduction. The avacuolar cell, without a surface coat, is swallowed and travels to the intestines. As it travels through the intestines, it morphs into its multivacuolar form, which has a thick surface coat. The cyst develops beneath the coat, which then sloughs off. The cyst is the probable infectious agent, and the cycle begins again with ingestion of the cyst. Excystation, probably induced by stomach acids, changes the cyst back into the avacuolar cell without a surface coat found in the intestines in the beginning of the life cycle. An amoeboid form is thought to exist, but its place in the life cycle is not well known, and possibly arises from the avacuolar form.
Diagnostic Tests:
B. hominis is usually diagnosed by microscopic examination of fecal material stained with iodine or trichrome. Permanent stained smear is preferred because fecal debris might be mistaken for the organism in wet preparations. Both ELISSA and fluorescent-antibody tests have been shown to detect the serum antibody in a limited number of tests.
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