Probiotics ease symptoms of childhood dermatitis and reduce need for steroids: Study
Oral probiotics improve the severity of Atopic Dermatitis (AD) in children, and lower the frequency of steroid use needed to manage are-ups, according to a recent study in JAMA Dermatology.
Children with moderate AD given a mixture of three trains of probiotics for 12 weeks saw a 19 point greater reduction in Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) Index than those given placebo, reported the research team let by the Universidad Catolica San Antonio de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
These scientists also found that probiotics induced a 29% reduction in the proportion of patient-days when steroid use was required to manage flare-ups of the disease.
"The results of our study indicate a strong positive effect in reducing the SCORAD index and use of topical corticosteroids in the group treated with the probiotic mixture", wrote first author Dr. Vicente Navarro-Lopez.
The findings are significant as they as they suggest the possible future use of probiotics as an effective adjuvant therapy to steroids.
"This evidence supports the efficiency of administering this probiotics mixture to patients with moderate AD and suggests that it could be used more extensively in clinical practice," suggested Navarro-Lopez.
Lowering the frequency of steroid use might also benefit patients in reducing their well-established adverse side effects.
JAMA STUDY:
Key Points
Question Can treatment with an oral probiotic reduce the SCORAD index and the use of topical steroids in children with moderate atopic dermatitis?
Findings
This randomized clinical trial of 50 children treated with a mixture of probiotics or placebo for 12 weeks found that SCORAD and topical steroid use decreased significantly in the probiotic group compared with the placebo group.
Meaning
This probiotic is an effective and safe coadjuvant treatment to reduce the SCORAD index and topical steroid use in children with moderate atopic dermatitis.
Abstract
Importance Oral intake of new probiotic formulations may improve the course of atopic dermatitis (AD) in a young population.
Objective To determine whether a mixture of oral probiotics is safe and effective in the treatment of AD symptoms and to evaluate its influence on the use of topical steroids in a young population.
Design, Setting, and Participants A 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention trial, from March to June 2016, at the outpatient hospital Centro Dermatológico Estético de Alicante, Alicante, Spain. Observers were blinded to patient groupings. Participants were children aged 4 to 17 years with moderate atopic dermatitis. The groups were stratified and block randomized according to sex, age, and age of onset. Patients were ineligible if they had used systemic immunosuppressive drugs in the previous 3 months or antibiotics in the previous 2 weeks or had a concomitant diagnosis of intestinal bowel disease or signs of bacterial infection.
Interventions Twelve weeks with a daily capsule containing freeze-dried powder with 109 total colony-forming units of the probiotic strains Bifidobacterium lactis CECT 8145, B longum CECT 7347, and Lactobacillus casei CECT 9104 and maltodextrin as a carrier, or placebo (maltodextrin-only capsules).
Main Outcomes and Measures SCORAD index score and days of topical steroid use were analyzed.
Results Fifty children (26 [50%] female; mean [SD] age, 9.2 [3.7] years) participated. After 12 weeks of follow-up, the mean reduction in the SCORAD index in the probiotic group was 19.2 points greater than in the control group (mean difference, −19.2; 95% CI, −15.0 to −23.4). In relative terms, we observed a change of −83% (95% CI, −95% to −70%) in the probiotic group and −24% (95% CI, −36% to −11%) in the placebo group (P < .001). We found a significant reduction in the use of topical steroids to treat flares in the probiotic arm (161 of 2084 patient-days [7.7%]) compared with the control arm (220 of 2032 patient-days [10.8%]; odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.78).
Conclusions and Relevance The mixture of probiotics was effective in reducing SCORAD index and reducing the use of topical steroids in patients with moderate AD.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2661596
https://www.nutraingredients.com/News/Research/Probiotics-ease-symptoms-of-childhood-dermatitis-and-reduce-need-for-steroids-Study
Children with moderate AD given a mixture of three trains of probiotics for 12 weeks saw a 19 point greater reduction in Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) Index than those given placebo, reported the research team let by the Universidad Catolica San Antonio de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
These scientists also found that probiotics induced a 29% reduction in the proportion of patient-days when steroid use was required to manage flare-ups of the disease.
"The results of our study indicate a strong positive effect in reducing the SCORAD index and use of topical corticosteroids in the group treated with the probiotic mixture", wrote first author Dr. Vicente Navarro-Lopez.
The findings are significant as they as they suggest the possible future use of probiotics as an effective adjuvant therapy to steroids.
"This evidence supports the efficiency of administering this probiotics mixture to patients with moderate AD and suggests that it could be used more extensively in clinical practice," suggested Navarro-Lopez.
Lowering the frequency of steroid use might also benefit patients in reducing their well-established adverse side effects.
JAMA STUDY:
Key Points
Question Can treatment with an oral probiotic reduce the SCORAD index and the use of topical steroids in children with moderate atopic dermatitis?
Findings
This randomized clinical trial of 50 children treated with a mixture of probiotics or placebo for 12 weeks found that SCORAD and topical steroid use decreased significantly in the probiotic group compared with the placebo group.
Meaning
This probiotic is an effective and safe coadjuvant treatment to reduce the SCORAD index and topical steroid use in children with moderate atopic dermatitis.
Abstract
Importance Oral intake of new probiotic formulations may improve the course of atopic dermatitis (AD) in a young population.
Objective To determine whether a mixture of oral probiotics is safe and effective in the treatment of AD symptoms and to evaluate its influence on the use of topical steroids in a young population.
Design, Setting, and Participants A 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention trial, from March to June 2016, at the outpatient hospital Centro Dermatológico Estético de Alicante, Alicante, Spain. Observers were blinded to patient groupings. Participants were children aged 4 to 17 years with moderate atopic dermatitis. The groups were stratified and block randomized according to sex, age, and age of onset. Patients were ineligible if they had used systemic immunosuppressive drugs in the previous 3 months or antibiotics in the previous 2 weeks or had a concomitant diagnosis of intestinal bowel disease or signs of bacterial infection.
Interventions Twelve weeks with a daily capsule containing freeze-dried powder with 109 total colony-forming units of the probiotic strains Bifidobacterium lactis CECT 8145, B longum CECT 7347, and Lactobacillus casei CECT 9104 and maltodextrin as a carrier, or placebo (maltodextrin-only capsules).
Main Outcomes and Measures SCORAD index score and days of topical steroid use were analyzed.
Results Fifty children (26 [50%] female; mean [SD] age, 9.2 [3.7] years) participated. After 12 weeks of follow-up, the mean reduction in the SCORAD index in the probiotic group was 19.2 points greater than in the control group (mean difference, −19.2; 95% CI, −15.0 to −23.4). In relative terms, we observed a change of −83% (95% CI, −95% to −70%) in the probiotic group and −24% (95% CI, −36% to −11%) in the placebo group (P < .001). We found a significant reduction in the use of topical steroids to treat flares in the probiotic arm (161 of 2084 patient-days [7.7%]) compared with the control arm (220 of 2032 patient-days [10.8%]; odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.78).
Conclusions and Relevance The mixture of probiotics was effective in reducing SCORAD index and reducing the use of topical steroids in patients with moderate AD.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2661596
https://www.nutraingredients.com/News/Research/Probiotics-ease-symptoms-of-childhood-dermatitis-and-reduce-need-for-steroids-Study
