The Potential Therapeutic Efficacy of Lactobacillus GG in Children with Food Allergies

Pharmaceuticals

Roberto Berni Canani¹  Margherita Di Costanzo¹  Vincenza Pezzella¹  Linda Cosenza¹  Viviana Granata¹  Gianluca Terrin² 

[1] Department of Pediatrics, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80131, Naples, Italy;Department of Woman’s Health and Territorial Medicine, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy;

关键词: food allergy;    probiotic;    intestinal microflora;    immune system;    Lactobacillus GG;    cow’s milk allergy;    tolerance acquisition;    atopic march;    pediatrics;    infants;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ph5060655

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Food allergy (FA) continues to be a growing health concern for infants living in Western countries. The long-term prognosis for the majority of affected infants is good, with 80–90% naturally acquiring tolerance by the age of five years. However, recent studies suggest that the natural history of FA is changing, with an increasing persistence until later ages. The pathogenesis of FA as well as oral tolerance is complex and not completely known, although numerous studies implicate gut-associated immunity and enteric microflora, and it has been suggested that an altered composition of intestinal microflora results in an unbalanced local and systemic immune response to food allergens. In addition, there are qualitative and quantitative differences in the composition of gut microbiota between patients affected by FA and healthy infants. These findings prompted the concept that specific beneficial bacteria from the human intestinal microflora, designated probiotics, could restore intestinal homeostasis and prevent or alleviate allergy, at least in part by interacting with the intestinal immune cells.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.