Ann Dermatol.  2012 May;24(2):189-193.

Effect of Probiotics on the Treatment of Children with Atopic Dermatitis

• Yesilova Y
• Calka O
• Akdeniz N
• Berktas M

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Atopic dermatitis, a chronic recurrent disease, is frequently encountered in clinical practice. In the last 30 years, the prevalence of atopic dermatitis has rapidly increased due to industrialization. Therefore, there have been attempts in recent years to find new ways of treating and preventing atopic dermatitis.
OBJECTIVE
In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, a combination of Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus salivarius strains were evaluated in the treatment of atopic dermatitis in pediatric patients.
METHODS
Forty pediatric patients (23 males and 17 females) aged 1~13 years were enrolled. One eligible individual who was approached declined to participate. The probiotic group was administered a probiotic complex containing B. bifidum, L. acidophilus, L. casei, and L. salivarius for 8 weeks. The placebo group, on the other hand, was administered skim milk powder and dextrose. All of the parameters including serum cytokines, eosinophil cationic protein), SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index, and total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) were measured in both the probiotic group and the placebo group at the end of 8 weeks.
RESULTS
Probiotic intervention in pediatric atopic dermatitis patients effectively reduced the SCORAD index and serum cytokines interleukin (IL)-5, IL-6, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and total serum IgE levels, but did not reduce levels of serum cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, ECP, or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) compared to the placebo group.
CONCLUSION
Our study found probiotics to be effective in reducing atopic dermatitis patients' SCORAD index, serum IL-5, IL-6, IFN-gamma, and total serum IgE levels but not effective in reducing serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, ECP, or TNF-alpha levels.

Keyword

Atopic dermatitis; Cytokines; Probiotics; SCORAD index

MeSH Terms

Aged
Bifidobacterium
Child
Cytokines
Dermatitis, Atopic
Eosinophils
Glucose
Hand
Humans
Immunoglobulin E
Immunoglobulins
Interferons
Interleukin-10
Interleukin-2
Interleukin-4
Interleukin-5
Interleukin-6
Interleukins
Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus casei
Male
Milk
Prevalence
Probiotics
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Cytokines
Glucose
Immunoglobulin E
Immunoglobulins
Interferons
Interleukin-10
Interleukin-2
Interleukin-4
Interleukin-5
Interleukin-6
Interleukins
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Changes in the levels of serum cytokines, SCORAD index, and total serum IgE and comparisons before and after probiotic and placebo administration. SCORAD: SCORing Atoptic Dermatitis, IgE: immunoglobulin E, IL-2: interleukin-2, IL-4: interleukin-4, IL-5: interleukin-5, IL-6: interleukin-6, IL-10: interleukin-10, TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α, IFN-γ: interferon-γ, ECP: eosinophil cationic protein.

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