ABSTRACT
Accumulating evidences indicate that some diseases are triggered by abnormalities of the gut microbiota. Among these, immune-related diseases can be the promising targets for probiotcs. Several studies have proved the efficacy of probiotics for preventing such diseases including cancers, infections, allergies, inflammatory bowel diseases and autoimmune diseases. Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) is one of the most popular probiotics, benefits of which in health maintenance and disease control have been supported by several science-based evidences. This review summarizes human clinical trials with this probiotic against cancer development and also discusses the possible immunomodulatory mechanisms by which LcS exerts anti-cancer activity.
ABSTRACT
Prevention of infectious complications after major surgeries including those for cancer has been a major concern in the clinical field. To overcome this problem, probiotics and synbiotics (combination of probiotics and prebiotics have recently been introduced for post-operative treatment. Clinical application of synbiotics in severe cases, such as severe pediatric surgical cases, acute pancreatitis, liver transplantation, and biliary cancer, has been reported. The present article deals with the clinical effect of such synbiotic therapies for the patients under emergency medical care, and discusses the possible mechanism of action and prospect of synbiotic therapy.