Cera Products
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Cera Products Inc. is an American developer and manufacturer of a rice-based oral rehydration therapy [1] (ORT) product. The company was founded in 1993 along with physicians at Johns Hopkins University, to develop, manufacture and distribute high-performance, rice-based oral rehydration solutions (ORS).
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[edit] History
The development of Cera Product’s oral rehydration therapy (ORT) product began in Bangladesh at the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Dhaka (ICDDRB) [2] during the 1980s. It was at the ICDDRB where Cera Products Inc. president, Charlene Riikonen, Drs. David Sack and W. B. Greenough III met and worked together with the intention of preventing unnecessary suffering, severe illnesses and death by assisting individuals who were afflicted with dehydration and diarrhea. After returning to the U.S., they were determined to develop an oral rehydration therapy (ORT) product that was faster, more effective, and better tolerated than the glucose-based ORS product. In 1996, as part of an ongoing clinical research and product development relationship with Johns Hopkins University physicians Dr. William Greenough, and Dr. David Sack, Cera Products Inc. undertook clinical studies and after the initial results applied for its patents and began to manufacture CeraLyte ® ORS. In 1997 the core technology and formulations that comprise Cera’s products were awarded a U.S. patent. A second patent was applied for in 2004 currently pending worldwide for all Cera’s products.
CeraLyte ORS has helped thousands of individuals and is used by health organizations throughout the United States and in Canada, Central America, Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. Repeat customers include, among others, Columbia Hospital for Physicians and Surgeons, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Emory, Jackson Memorial Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, the Mayo Clinic, Mt. Sinai, National Institutes of Health, New York Presbyterian Medical Center; the US Department of Defense, other U.S. Government agencies, over 200 travel clinics, several catalogs geared toward good travel health, and a growing number of retail institutions.
Cera's products are available nationwide and can be purchased through a variety of distributors, including major wholesale pharmaceutical distributors in the U.S, Canada, and a growing number of distributors going to retail outlets.
[edit] Composition
Cera Products’ oral electrolyte products are all non-carbonated and based on a patented rice formulation that contains a mixed chain carbohydrate preserving the rice protein and other attributes inherent in rice. This patented formulation has been evaluated and validated in over 15 laboratory and clinical studies with additional studies continuing. [3] The products are appropriate for all ages and conditions with volume deletion and dehydration. [4] [5]
[edit] Specific products
CeraLyte®
CeraSport®
CeraFlu®
CeraVacx®
CeraVet®
[edit] Certifications
Cera Products Inc. manufactures its products under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), under USDA and/or FDA oversight and inspection, and World Health Organization (WHO) standards for electrolyte formulations. CeraLyte holds the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) Tru-label® certification and is gluten-free.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Kelly D, Nadeau J. (2004). "Oral Rehydration Solution: A “Low-Tech” Oft Neglected Therapy". Nutrition Issues in Gastroenterology 21: 51-62.
- ^ Greenough, WBG III (1998). "Oral Rehydration Solution: Something New, Something Old". Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice 7: 97-100.
- ^ Gore SM, Fontaine O, Pierce NE. (1992). "Impact of rice-based rehydration solution on stool output and duration of diarrhea; meta-analysis of 13 clinical trials". BRIT Med J 304: 287-91.
- ^ Bennett RG, Greenough WB III. (1993). "Approach to Diarrhea in the Elderly; Topics in Infectious Disease". Acute Infectious Diarrhea 22 (3): 517-33.
- ^ Zaman K, Yunus M, Rahman, A, Chowdhery, HR, and Sack DA (2001). "Efficacy of a Packaged rice-oral rehydration solution among children with cholera and cholera-like illness". Acta Paediatricia 90 (5): 505-511.
[edit] References
- Hirschhorn, N. & Greenough, WBG III. Progress in Oral Rehydration Therapy. Scientific American 1991; 264: 50-56
- Ochoa, Juan G. Electrolyte Therapy for Refractory Seizures in Familial Dysautonomia. Epilepsia 2004; 45 (11): 1461-1462. Published by the International League Against Epilepsy.
- Warren JL, Bacon E, Harris T, McBean AM, Foley D, Phillips C. The Burden and Outcomes Associated with Dehydration among US Elderly, 1991. Am J Public Health 1994; 84:1265-69.
