Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis is one of the most common skin disorders occurring during childhood. It is one of the initial signs of allergy that occurs during early life, and is believed to be due to the immune system’s delayed development. According to the American Academy of Dermatologists, approximately 10 to 20 per cent of all infants experience eczema. But between the ages of and 15 most of the cases resolve.
Daily supplements of a probiotic, a multi-bacterial strain food was give to women recruited at medical research centers in the Netherlands. The group of 157 women were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or the probiotic during the last two weeks of pregnancy.
The researchers found that the reported eczema was 58 per cent lower in the probiotic group compared to the placebo group during the first three months of life, after which time the rate of eczema was the same I between both groups.
According to the Dutch researchers, “the results of this study suggest that primary prevention of eczema by perinatal administration of probiotic bacteria indeed involves modulation of the early colonization of the intestinal microbiota, which may result in modulating the development and maturation of the infant’s immunes system.”
Source: Allergy Published online ahead of print “ The effects of selected probiotic strains on the development of eczema