A recent editorial in the Lancet starts with the premise that “…both commercial and clinical use of probiotics is outpacing the science.” This article came on the heels of 4 papers published during the fall of 2018, which were critical … Continue reading
One of the largest randomized controlled trials using probiotics as an intervention was recently published in the British Journal of Nutrition (Eskesen et al. 2015). The study was on 1248 healthy subjects with low defecation frequency and abdominal discomfort and tested … Continue reading
Twenty years ago, the conventional wisdom was that colonization is a requirement for probiotics. In vitro cell culture assays were considered evidence of colonization. Once human feeding trials were conducted, strain-specific assays showed that probiotics were recovered at most for … Continue reading
Health care providers (HCPs) are recommending probiotic use to their patients. A telephone survey (Abe et al. 2013) of academic hospital formularies (114 of 126 responded) found that 87% carried at least one probiotic. Such use is likely driven by … Continue reading
On October 23, 2013 a panel of scientific experts* – including Profs. Reid and Morelli, who were part of the original committee that developed the widely used 2001 FAO/WHO definition of ‘probiotic’ – assembled in London to discuss the scope … Continue reading
Probiotics communicate with the people who consume them. The nature of this communication is the subject of much research. This research can tell us a lot about how probiotics do what they do (this can be important to regulatory authorities … Continue reading
Clinical Study Highlight Probiotic Effects on Cold and Influenza-Like Symptom Incidence and Duration in Children Pediatrics Vol. 124 No. 2 August 2009, pp. e172-e179 (doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2666) Gregory J. Leyer, Shuguang Li, Mohamed E. Mubasher, Cheryl Reifer and Arthur C. Ouwehand Probiotics … Continue reading
Clinical Study Highlight Probiotics Improve Outcomes After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Trial. J Gastrointest Surg. 2009 Apr 18. [Epub ahead of print] Woodard GA, Encarnacion B, Downey JR, Peraza J, Chong K, Hernandez-Boussard T, Morton JM. The … Continue reading
Clinical Study Highlight A differential effect of 2 probiotics in the prevention of eczema and atopy: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008 Oct;122(4):788-94. Wickens K, Black PN, Stanley TV, Mitchell E, Fitzharris P, Tannock GW, Purdie … Continue reading
Clinical Study Highlight The effects of probiotics on feeding tolerance, bowel habits, and gastrointestinal motility in preterm newborns. J Pediatr. 2008 Jun;152(6):801-6. Indrio F, Riezzo G, Raimondi F, Bisceglia M, Cavallo L, Francavilla R. The role of probiotics in improving … Continue reading