eosinophilic esophagitis: gut flora

Showing posts with label gut flora. Show all posts

03 October 2013

Results: Subjects receiving L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 reported significant improvements in general GI health status (p = 0.029) and in symptoms related to diarrhea (p = 0.018) as compared to placebo over the intervention period. Further, a greater proportion of L. reuteri-treated subjects showed improved general GI health status (p = 0.042) and improved diarrhea symptoms (p = 0.03).
Conclusions: L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 capsules appear to be well tolerated and potentially beneficial for GI health status. This BSH active probiotic bacterial cells can be used alone or in combination with others such as health food, drug calcium, vitamins and others to treat and/or prevent gastrointestinal associated disorders. Further clinical investigation is warranted for the treatment of functional GI disorders.

Birch pollen allergy was shown to be associated with changes in fecal microbiota composition. The specific combination of probiotics used was shown to prevent the pollen-induced infiltration of eosinophils into the nasal mucosa, and indicated a trend for reduced nasal symptoms.
...our results indicate that gut microbiota are involved in regulating the inflammatory processes also in airway allergies.
The fecal levels of bifidobacteria, clostridia and Bacteroides were reduced at the peak of the birch pollen season.
In conclusion, our study showed that consumption of a combination of L. acidophilus NCFM^TM and B. lactis Bl-04 could positively influence markers of respiratory allergy, especially in the mucosae, and also resulted in a tendency for a reduction in reported nasal symptoms.
Probiotics may provide an alternative or complementary treatment for pollen allergies. A future study could investigate whether this would lead to a reduced use of antihistamines.

Various effects of different probiotic strains in allergic disorders: an update from laboratory and clinical data
-Ozdemir O., Department of Pediatics, Division of Allergy/Immunology, SEMA Research and Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
2010 Jun;160(3):295-304. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.2010.04109.x. Epub 2010 Mar 16.

Excerpts:

Enhanced presence of probiotic bacteria in the intestinal microbiota is found to correlate with protection against atopy.
There is also very promising evidence to recommend the addition of probiotics to foods for the prevention and treatment of allergic diseases.
Clinical improvement, especially in allergic rhinitis and immunoglobulin (Ig)E-sensitized (atopic) eczema, has been reported in most of the published studies.
After weaning, the microflora of children begins to resemble that of adults, with
increased Bacteroides, Veillonella and Fusobacterium.
In another study, Lctbs acidophilus and Bfdbm lactis treatments prevented OVA-induced allergic symptoms on the skin and gastrointestinal tract, e.g. eosinophilic infiltration.

Editor's notes:

The 'hygiene hypothesis' and its possible connection to increased levels of allergic disease in industrialized countries.
Development of infant immune system, its relation to environmental and dietary bacteria, and its maturation into the adult immune system.
Probiotics: definition and modes of operation.

Food allergy and eosinophilic esophagitis: Learning what to avoid
-Sandra Hong, MD, Nicola Vogel, MD
doi: 10.3949/ccjm.77a.09018 Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine January 2010 vol. 77 1 51-59. (c)2010 The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Excerpts:

The gut flora. When mice are raised in a germ-free environment, they fail to develop normal tolerance.They are also more likely to become sensitized if they are treated with antibiotics or if they lack toll-like receptors that recognize bacterial lipopolysaccharides. Furthermore, human studies suggest that probiotics promote tolerance, especially in preventing atopic dermatitis, although the studies have had conflicting results.
The gastric pH. Murine and human studies reveal that antacid medications increase the risk of food allergy.
Three types of immune responses to food. About 20% of all people alter their diet because of concerns about adverse reactions to foods. These adverse reactions include metabolic disorders (eg, lactose intolerance), a reaction to a pharmacologic component such as caffeine or a toxic contaminant of a food (eg, bacterial food poisoning), psychological reactions (eg, food aversion), and documented immunologic responses to a food (eg, food allergy)
Immunologic reactions to foods can be divided into three categories: mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE), non-IgE-mediated, and mixed. Therefore, these disorders can present as an acute, potentially life-threatening reaction or as a chronic disease such as eosinophilic gastoenteropathy.