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Blastocystis 'hominis' News

March 25, 2011: Research publish complete genome sequence of Blastocystis

March 23, 2011: Culinary herbs common in Southeast Asian cooking inhibit growth of Blastocystis in-vitro

February 12, 2011: Diagnostic methods commonly used in laboratories fail to identify most Blastocystis infections

January 17, 2011: US FDA researchers report on new assay for Blastocystis

November 18, 2010: BRF co-authors study on detection of Blastocystis in samples from patients with inflammatory bowel disease and IBS

March 4, 2010: Rats infected with Blastocystis exhibit high levels of oxidative stress in a new paper from Parasitology Research

February 10, 2010: Are any of the antiprotozoal drugs really eradicating Blastocystis 'hominis' infection in patients? A recent review: "Eradication of Blastocystis carriage with antimicrobials: reality or delusion?" says they may not be working.

February 9, 2010: Patients with ulcerative colitis are more likely to experience a relapse in illness if they are infected with Blastocystis and other protozoa

January 15, 2010: BRF co-authors the world's first report on subtyping of Blastocystis 'hominis' isolates from Egypt

Older News

NOTE: The correct term is now Blastocystis not Blastocystis 'hominis' as there is no Blastocystis unique to humans.

How to get a FREE 1-Year BRF membership, along with a copy of our latest annual report on Blastocysts research and treatments

If you are a United States citizen who has been diagnosed with Blastocystis infection, we will give you a free
membership if you write your Congressional Representative, and send us a copy of the letter with permission to reproduce it on our web site, and in written communication.

BRF will not show your name or address on the letter.

In the letter, please describe your experience with Blastocystis, how happy you are with the level of care you received.

Was your illness diagnosed quickly?
Did the doctor give you a clear understanding of what was making you sick?
Did you receive a treatment that cured the illness?

Next, take a momemt to read the
letters from the NIH and CDC here.

Now, think about how the NIH's position on Blastocystis might be related to the level of care you received.

In your letter, please express an opinion as to whether you think the actions of the NIH and CDC are contributing to the quality of your are, or degrading it, and what you think your Congressman should be doing about the issue.

Some pieces of information concerning Blastocystis are listed below.

Blastocystis is now the most prevalent GI parasite in the world.

The NIH has not provided any funding to help doctors diagnose or treat the disease in over 12 years.

By "no funding" we mean just that - the NIH has rejected every proposal.

The NIH funds over 50,000 grants totaling over $11 billion each year.

They have funded tens of thousands of grants in HIV research, and thousands of grants in research into reserach into other GI parasitic disease.

But in the mid-1990's, after several doctors objected to Blastocystis research, the NIH began rejecting all grant proposals to study the disease in the United States.

The NIH has refused multiple congressional requests to reverse this position. They will not fund a single research project.

They also refused to consider a etition from physicians, patients, and US Gulf War veterans asking for just one (1) research project.