Atopic Dermatitis
Eczema is a skin condition that is suffered by 10-20% of the world’s population. It causes the skin to become red, itchy and flaky. This is a result of the skin’s inflammatory response to physical or environmental irritants. Anybody can get eczema, although those with a family history will have a greater predisposition to the disease.
Normally, skin acts as a barrier to protect individuals against disease and infection. This protection is compromised when oversensitivity to external irritants causes a negative immune response, resulting in an eczema reaction. When the skin heals, it thickens and can have a leathery appearance; this process is known as lichenification. Allergic reactions to foods, particularly milk products, animals, dust, cosmetics, and viruses can all trigger an episode of eczema. Environmental factors, such as stress, can also trigger a reaction. This skin condition can appear in infants, children and adults, on any part of the body.
It has been suggested that some people develop atopic diseases, such as allergic rhinitis, asthma and atopic eczema, due to alterations in their intestinal microflora. It is therefore suggested that probiotics might help to prevent and treat atopic disorders by altering intestinal microflora. Distinctive alterations in the composition of the gut microflora have been found in people with atopic diseases, which suggests that there is interaction between the intestinal immune system and specific microfloral strains in the development of these conditions (1).
Many children with allergic conditions have a delay in the development of the gut microflora at weaning. A study began treatment with Lactobacilli spp. at, or around, birth and observed allergic symptoms for the next two years (2). It was found that those receiving probiotics were half as likely to develop atopic eczema as those infants who did not. Probiotics may therefore be potentially beneficial to the maturation of an infant’s immune system. Adding probiotics to the daily diet of children with food allergies has helped to reduce eczema symptoms.
Allergic Rhinitis
Many people suffer from allergic rhinitis either seasonally, due to pollen (hay fever), or recurrently, from an adverse reaction to food or other substances in the environment. A study monitored the symptoms of children with seasonal allergic rhinitis. They were given fermented milk containing Lactobacilli for thirty days (3). The reported symptoms of the patients suggest that this probiotic can effectively and safely improve their quality of life. The researchers concluded that, based on these parameters, probiotic bacteria can help to improve or prevent allergic recurrences in those with seasonal allergic rhinitis.
Preventing atopic disorders
It has been suggested that infants, who due to family history are at risk of developing atopic conditions, may benefit from their mothers taking probiotics. In a trial, probiotics were given to women before they gave birth. The same probiotics were then given to the infants themselves for six months (4). The frequency of atopic eczema in the probiotic-supplemented group was half that of the placebo group, suggesting that probiotics are effective in the prevention of early atopic disease in high-risk children.
It is known that breastfeeding offers some protection against atopic disease, but probiotic supplementation of the pregnant and lactating mother may add to this immunoprotective effect. Probiotics were given to mothers during pregnancy and lactation. Their infants were monitored for the next two years and those whose mothers had received probiotics were significantly less likely to have atopic eczema(5).
References
1. Rautava S., Isolauri E. (2001), “The development of gut immune responses and gut microbiota: effects of probiotics in prevention and treatment of allergic disease”, Curr Issues Intest Microbiol. 3(1):15-22.
2. Kalliomaki M., Isolauri E. (2003), “Role of intestinal flora in the development of allergy”, Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 3(1):15-20.
3. Wang M.F., Lin H.C., Wang Y.Y., Hsu C.H. (2004), “Treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis with lactic acid bacteria”, Pediatr Allergy Immunol. Apr, 15(2):152-8.
4. Kalliomäki M., Salminen S., Arviolmmi H., Kero P., Koskinen P., Isolauri E. (2001), “Probiotics in primary prevention of atopic disease: a randomised placebo-controlled trial”, Lancet, 357:1076-9.
5. Rautava S., Kalliomaki M., Isolauri E. (2002), “Probiotics during pregnancy and breast-feeding might confer immunomodulatory protection against atopic disease in the infant”, J Allergy Clin Immunol., 109(1):119-21.