Combination of probiotics can help reduce asthma exacerbations in children, says study

Italy: A combination of two probiotics may reduce asthma exacerbations in allergic children, particularly those with home dust mite allergies, says an article published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Asthma is often defined as a type 2 inflammation accompanied with a weakened type 1 immune response, which is in charge of combating infections. Children with asthma have dysbiosis in the stomach and airways, according to Ciprandi, and they are also prone to respiratory infections. Giorgio Ciprandi and colleagues predicted that because allergy is a major pathogenic component in asthma, children with allergies will benefit from probiotic therapy as well.

The PROPAM research comprised 164 allergic children, with a mean age of 8.8 years and a gender split of 60 girls and 104 (63.4 percent) males. However, 16 people did not fulfil the inclusion requirements and were not randomized for the double-blind allergy research, and three people were lost to follow-up, leaving 84 people in the placebo group and 80 people in the probiotic group. The supplementation period lasted four months. For 8 weeks, participants were given the probiotic combination or a placebo twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, and then once a day for another 8 weeks.

They key findings of this study were as follows:

1. The researchers discovered that children with allergies who got the probiotic combination had fewer asthma exacerbations, with improved results for those with home dust mite allergies.

2. Furthermore, utilizing these strains in probiotic supplements might decrease asthma exacerbations, lowering health-care expenses and drug side effects while increasing quality of life, according to the researchers.

3. Because many children with asthma have uncontrolled or inadequately managed asthma, and prior exacerbations are the primary risk factor for future asthma exacerbations, probiotics may be useful in avoiding them.

In conclusion, preschoolers, schoolchildren, and allergy participants were subjected to post-hoc analysis. All of these studies verified the beneficial benefits. Further research might look into the impact on asthma control and biomarkers.

Reference:

Ciprandi, G., Schiavetti, I., Cioffi, L., Pane, M., & Drago, L. (2022). The PRObiotics in Pediatric Asthma Management (PROPAM) study: a post-hoc analysis in allergic children. In Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2022.04.026