Editor,—In their “therapy updates”, Professor Shanahan ((2001) Gut 48:609–609; OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science) and Professor Colombelet al ((2001) Gut 48:647–647; OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science), respectively, addressed the issues of “probiotics in IBD” and of “antibiotics in Crohn's disease”. I would like, shuffling the titles of their articles, to add a few comments on “probiotics in Crohn's disease”. Colombelet al pointed out the importance of intestinal flora in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease and the therapeutic role that antibiotics can play in this disorder.

An alternative approach to …