Could Probiotics Prevent Atopic Dermatitis?

Mixed-strain synbiotics—a combination of prebiotics and probiotics—may help treat atopic dermatitis in children aged 1 year and older, according to new research.

Since atopic dermatitis is caused by altered gut microbiota, previous research has suggested that synbiotics may aid in the treatment and prevention of the condition.
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To examine this connection, researchers searched 4 databases from inception to October 2015 for clinical trials of oral synbiotics in preventing or treating atopic dermatitis.

Researchers pooled data from 8 studies (6 treatment studies and 2 prevention studies) that included a severity rating, such as a Severity Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index, or incidence measure of atopic dermatitis.

After analyzing the data, they found that the SCORAD index among those treated with synbiotics for 2 months was -6.56. Mixed-strain bacteria synbiotics improved the SCORAD index, but only in children 1 year and older.

Synbiotics were not, however, shown to aid in the prevention atopic dermatitis.

“This meta-analysis shows evidence that supports the use of synbiotics for the treatment of AD, particularly synbiotics with mixed strains of bacteria and for children aged 1 year or older,” researchers concluded. “Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of synbiotics for primary prevention of AD.”

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Chang YS, Trivedi MK, Jha A, et al. Synbiotics for prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. JAMA Pediatr. Published online January 25, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.3943.