Probiotic Supplementation During Pregnancy Shows Promise in Helping with Eczema

by | Nov 22, 2013 | Pregnancy and Lactation, Probiotics, Skin Health

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Children of pregnant women given a probiotic, had a 38% decreased risk of an indicator of eczema.

Eczema is a chronic skin infection more commonly referred to as atopic dermatitis that starts in the early years of life. It is characterized by varying degrees of redness and itching(1) on the face and in the skin folds of the arms and legs. Although its cause is not known, family history of asthma and hay fever seem to increase risk for eczema (2, 3). Recent estimates suggest eczema affects 31.6 million Americans and costs our healthcare system as much as $4 billion per year (5,6).

While current treatments rely mainly on anti-inflammatory medications (7), a new study (8) suggests that probiotics taken during pregnancy may be a simple and effective way to help with eczema. In the study, two groups of pregnant women participating in a previous study (9) were given either a probiotic supplement containing 6 billion colony forming units of Lactobacillus Rhamnosus or placebo at 35 weeks of pregnancy until birth, continuing to 6 months after birth in mothers of breastfeeding and from birth till 2 years in all infants.

This resulted in 159 children born to mothers given the probiotic supplementation and 157 children born to mothers given the placebo. The children were followed up at 6 years of age and underwent tests to diagnose eczema, including the skin pin prick test and using a scoring system called SCORAD (Scoring Atopic Dermatitis) (10).

The researchers found that at 6 years of age, those children in the probiotic group had a 28% decreased risk of having a positive skin prick test for eczema (p = 0.048), had 36% lower levels of the inflammatory protein IgE in their blood (104.3 vs. 66.8 kiloUnits/Liber, p = 0.07), and a 38% decreased risk of having a SCORAD score > 10 that is indicative of having eczema (p = 0.055).

The researchers stated the importance of these results to be that probiotic supplementation “did not simply provide protection against eczema during the 2-year intervention period, but that protection persisted for 4 years after cessation of [probiotic] supplementation…[and] reduced the risk of having eczema (and SCORAD ≥ 10) at 6 years.” They suggested the possible mechanism by the probiotics on skin health may be by improving digestive barrier function (11) and influencing immune system function (12).

They concluded, “our study is the first to show a significant effect of a probiotic on skin prick test responses by 6 years…[and] provides further support for a role of [probiotic supplementation], not just in eczema prevention, but possibly also in long-term prevention of atopic sensitization.”

Source: Wickens, K., et al. “Early supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 reduces eczema prevalence to 6 years: does it also reduce atopic sensitization?.” Clinical & Experimental Allergy 43.9 (2013): 1048-1057.

© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Posted September 23, 2013.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

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  2. Hanifin J, Rajka G. Diagnostic features of atopic dermatitis Acta Derm Venereol 1980;Suppl 92:44-7.
  3. Schultz Larsen F, Hanifin J. , ; Epidemiology of atopic dermatitis In: Boguniewicz M, editor Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America 22 2002. p. 1-24.In:.
  4. Hanifin JM.  A Population-Based Survey of Eczema Prevalence in the United States.  Dermatitis 2007;18(2):82-91.
  5. Carroll CL, Balkrishnan R, Feldman SR, et al. The burden of atopic dermatitis: impact on the patient, family, and society Pediatr Dermatol 2005;22:192-9.
  6. Ellis C, Drake L, Prendergast M, et al. Cost of atopic dermatitis and eczema in the United States J Am Acad Dermatol 2002;46:361-70.
  7. “Atopic Dermatitis” posted on PubMed Health.
  8. Wickens K.  Early supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 reduces eczema prevalence to 6 years: does it also reduce atopic sensitization?  Clin Exp Allergy 2013 Sep;43(9):1048-57. doi: 10.1111/cea.12154.
  9. Wickens K, Black PN, Stanley TV et al. A differential effect of 2 probiotics in the prevention of eczema and atopy: a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled trial. J Allergy Clin Imunol 2008; 122:788–94.
  10. European Task Force on Atopic Dermatitis. Severity scoring of atopic dermatitis: the SCORAD index. Dermatology 1993; 186:23–31.
  11. Nermes M, Kantele JM, Atosuo TJ, Salminen S, Isolauri E. Interaction of orally administered Lactobacillus rhamnsosus GG with skin and gut microbiota and humoral immunity in infants with atopic dermatitis. Clin Exp Allergy 2010; 41:370–7.
  12. Schaub B, Liu J, Hoppler S et al. Maternal farm exposure modulates neonatal immune mechanisms through regulatory T cells. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2009; 123:774–82.