Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
allergic rhinitis and asthma tended to be more common in the probiotic group after
7 years indicating that more longer-term studies are needed. Administration of heat-
inactivated LGG was found ineffective.
170
Administration of
L. reuteri
ATCC 55730
in combination with
L. rhamnosus
19070-2 to treat infants and children (1 to 13
years) with atopic dermatitis did not change the total SCORAD score; SCORAD
was, however, significantly reduced in the allergic patients with elevated IgE levels
or at least one positive skin prick test (
p
= 0.02).
207
In the same study, it was shown
that the intestinal mucosal barrier was impaired in the children with atopic dermati-
tis as measured by a positive association between the lactulose-to-mannitol ratio and
the severity of eczema.
208
After probiotic treatment, the lactulose-to-mannitol ratio
was lower compared to the control, which might indicate a stabilization of the intes-
tinal barrier function.
Lactobacillus reuteri
ATCC 55730 reduced IgE-associated
eczema significantly in a group of infants from 188 families with a history of allergy
(
p
= 0.02).
209
Occasionally, other strains were found effective.
210
15.4.3.3.2 Infection
In vitro
it has been shown that probiotic bacteria are able to inhibit pathogenic
bacteria through a blockade of epithelial access,
187,211
production of antimicrobi-
als, and production of acids.
212
Also in animal models probiotic bacteria have been
shown effective in preventing infections.
213,214
In adults, studies have shown a ben-
eficial effect of probiotic bacterial strains on prevention of infectious complications;
a significant reduction of infection rates in patients with abdominal surgery, liver
transplantation, and acute pancreatitis was reported.
215-217
In patients with severe
acute pancreatitis, probiotic prophylaxis with a mix of six different strains was asso-
ciated with increased mortality and did not reduce the risk of infectious complica-
tions.
218
Therefore, the use of probiotics in critically ill patients and patients at risk
for nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia is currently under debate.
In infants, most data are available on treatment and prevention of acute infec-
tious diarrhea by using probiotic bacteria (see above). Evidence for a modest effect
of some probiotic strains preventing gastrointestinal and respiratory infections in
healthy infants was provided in a limited number of clinical trials.
184
LGG showed a
modest but significant effect in reduction in incidence of respiratory infections and
their severity among children in daycare.
219
The administration of either
B. animalis
BB-12 or
L. reuteri
ATCC 55730 to infant formula for infants in child care centers
was not shown to affect respiratory illnesses, but the number of days with fever
was significantly reduced as well as the number of clinical visits, child absences,
and antibiotic prescriptions.
184
In this trial the incidence of diarrheal episodes was
reduced as well as their duration. In preterm infants, the administration of 7 days of
LGG was not shown to be effective in reduction of sepsis, urinary tract infections,
and NEC.
220
Bacterial sepsis was more frequent in the LGG group, but the difference
was not significant.
