Additive effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus L-92 on children with atopic dermatitis concomitant with food allergy

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) in infants is often related to food allergies (FA). The beneficial effects of lactic acid bacteria towards allergic diseases have been reported, but there are few reports on their effect and preferable dosages on AD in young children with concomitant FA. OBJECTIVE: To examine additional effects of two different dose of paraprobiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus L-92 (L-92) on the clinical treatment in young children afflicted by AD with diagnosed or suspected FA. METHODS: Fifty-nine AD young children from 10 months to 3 years old, with FA or who had not started to ingest specific food(s) because of high specific IgE levels, were recruited and randomly allocated into L-92 group (daily intake of 20 mg L-92/day) and placebo group. Participants were given test sample with conventional treatment for AD over a 24-week period. The severity of eczema was evaluated using SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index before intervention, and at 4, 12, and 24 weeks after intervention. RESULTS: After 24 weeks of intervention, a significant decrease in SCORAD was observed only in the L-92 group when compared with the baseline values. Significant decreases in thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) and total IgE were also detected 24 weeks after intake in the L-92 group compared with the placebo group. CONCLUSION: It was suggested that intake of sufficient amounts of L-92 works as an adjunctive treatment of young children afflicted by AD with diagnosed or suspected FA.

Differences of the Clinical Manifestations and Laboratory Tests between Monosensitized and Polysensitized Children: A Single Center Study / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to identify differences in the clinical manifestations and allergic indices between monosensitized and polysensitized children. METHODS: We reviewed retrospective data from the medical records of patients who had chronic or recurrent respiratory symptoms and visited the pediatric clinic at Chung-Ang University Hospital for an evaluation of allergic diseases from January 2003 to January 2011. The patients were categorized into nonsensitized (n=111), monosensitized (n=149), and polysensitized (n=205) groups according to skin prick tests (as classified by five allergen groups). We compared gender, age, family history, admission history, food sensitization, total immunoglobulin E (IgE), peripheral eosinophil counts, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) levels, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and methacholine provocation tests among the three groups. RESULTS: The frequency of food sensitivity was highest in the polysensitized group (n=101, 49.3%), followed by the monosensitized (n=8, 5.4%) and nonsensitized groups (n=0) (P<0.001). The FEV1 was significantly lower in the polysensitized group than that in the monosensitized and nonsensitized groups (79.4+/-20.2% vs. 87.2+/-16.0% vs. 87.6+/-17.1%, respectively) (P=0.013). The total IgE and ECP levels were significantly higher in the polysensitized patients than those in the other patients (P<0.001 and <0.001, respectively). Differences in gender, age, peripheral eosinophil count, and bronchial hyper-responsiveness were not identified between the monosensitized and polysensitized groups. CONCLUSION: The polysensitized group showed more frequent food hypersensitivity, lower FEV1 values, and higher allergic indices such as total IgE and ECP, suggesting a different atopic phenotype compared with those in the monosensitized group.