Azodyl -This is bunk, right?

Quote:

Azodyl is a proprietary probiotic product that claims to help break down the by-products of digestion that contribute to uremia (elevated creatinine and BUN). Note that uremia contributes to symptoms of kidney disease, but is not harmful to the kidneys themselves; elevated creatinine and BUN are the result of kidney disease, not the cause. The bacteria are called "Kibow probiotics," from Kibow Biotech in Pennsylvania, which sells the same product under its own brand name, and says it contains three strands of probiotics: streptococcus thermophilus (now called Enterococcus thermophilus), lactobacillus acidophilus, and bifidobacterium longum, plus psyllium (prebiotic, used to feed the probiotics). This company apparently patented the term "enteric dialysis" that is used to market Azodyl. Once again, you may be able to find these ingredients more cheaply in other probiotics products, such as Source Naturals Life Flora, Udo's Choice Advanced Adult's Probiotic (available thru Amazon), and Stonyfield Farm Yogurt. See this Consumer Lab report for other good probiotic brands. Also see PDRHealth for more general info on these and other probiotic strains. This product must be shipped cold, which can add considerably to the shipping cost. Best prices I found were at VetDepot, PSC Pets (free shipping if order is over $50, can add extra cold protection for $5) and Amazon. Order multiple bottles to reduce the shipping cost per bottle. The Vetoquinol web site shows two small, unpublished and undated studies, one on pigs and one on cats (the one on cats was uncontrolled, neither was double-blind), showing some benefit from the use of Azodyl. I know of no other information that would suggest this product is beneficial to dogs with kidney disease, though there would be no harm in using it and probiotics offer other benefits as well. The owner of ThrivingPets.com, who agrees that the claims for Azodyl are overblown, still says, "I don't think Azodyl is a bad product. I think it can help with inappetence issues and improve digestion and absorption of nutrients. I don't think it will improve BUN and Creatinine but it may make your pet eat better and feel better which may lead to a better quality of life and may extend the pet's life as well."

Linky.



You can find the studies, in all their glory, here. I have no idea how that cat study is set up.



Then there was a cat study that found no benefits, but people complained that because they pills were opened and sprinkled onto the food it killed the probiotics, or something.



Now there was apparently a paper that was summarized on this skeptvet blog post on dogs that did not break the pills and also found no benefit. Unfortunately I can't find it elsewhere.



I also found this chart via Google Scholar. Interestingly, it looks like it was from a study that was funded by the manufacturer. But again, I can find no further information.

via JREF Forum http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=266828&goto=newpost