Dr. Bondeviks Hudklinikk

Probiotika
Marko Kalliomäki and colleagues from Turku University Central Hospital, Finland, previously reported results of a randomised trial (Lancet 2001;
357: 1076-79) which showed how consumption of the probiotic Lactobacillus GG (a probiotic which is safe at an early age and effective in the treatment of allergic inflammation and food allergy) halved the incidence of infant atopic eczema at two years of age compared with placebo.

Denne studien fra Finnland (2001) beviser at inntak av probiotika (gode tarmbakterier) hos gravide og barn rett etter fødsel kan halvere risikoen for atopisk eksem hos barnet.

Probiotic Protection Against Eczema Could Extend From Infancy to Childhood

A follow-up study in this week's issue of THE LANCET highlights how probiotics given to pregnant women and babies around the time of childbirth could protect children from atopic eczema for up to four years-two years longer than previously reported.

Allergy, in the form of atopic disease, is a chronic disorder of increasing importance in more-developed countries. The hygiene hypothesis proposes that this increase is attributal to reduced bacterial exposure in early life which impedes full development of the immune system.

The same group of investigators report how children who were exposed to probiotics around the time of birth were 40% less likely to develop atopic eczema at four years of age compared with children in the placebo group. As with the previous study, exposure to probiotics did not have any protective effect over asthma or rhinitis.

Marko Kalliomäki comments: "Our findings show that the preventive effect of Lactobacillus GG on atopic eczema in at-risk children extends to the age of
4 years. This age, however, does not yet allow of final assessment of any effect on respiratory allergic diseases, since these typically manifest themselves at an older age."

Contact: Dr Marko Kalliomäki, Department of Paediatrics, Turku University Central Hospital, PO Box 52, FI-20521 Turku, Finland; T) +358 2 313 0000; F)
+358 2 313 1460; E) markal@utu.fi

Lactobaciller virker lindrende mot atopisk eksem
Probiotic therapy shows promise as treatment for atopic eczema in infants
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treatment with Lactobacillus GG helps reduce symptoms of atopic eczema/dermatitis syndrome (AEDS) in IgE-sensitized infants, according to a report in the April issue of Allergy.
Previous reports have suggested that probiotic bacteria may be useful in reducing AEDS symptoms in food-allergic children. To investigate this further, Dr. Mirva Viljanen, from the University of Helsinki in Finland, and colleagues assessed AEDS symptoms in 230 infants with suspected cow's milk allergy who were randomized to receive Lactobacillus GG (LGG), LGG plus three other probiotics, or placebo capsules mixed with food twice daily for 4 weeks.
Following the treatment phase, milk challenge was performed and cow's milk allergy was diagnosed in 120 infants, the authors report.
In the overall analysis, AEDS symptoms dropped by 65% during the study, but no differences were observed between the treatment groups.
However, when the analysis was confined to IgE-sensitized subjects, LGG alone, but not with the other probiotics, was associated with a significant reduction in symptoms compared with placebo (p = 0.036). This finding was verified further when infants who had received antibiotics were excluded from the analysis.
"Influencing the gut microflora by administration of probiotic bacteria to treat allergy is a new alternative," the authors state. "Further studies are needed to explore strain-specific effects and mechanisms of different probiotic bacteria on allergic patients."
Source : Allergy 2005;60:494-500.