Lviv, Ukraine—Data from a recent clinical trial show some promise for the use of probiotics to help those with atopic dermatitis (AD), an inflammatory skin disease.

During the eight-week trial, researchers from Lviv National Medical University separated 90 preschoolers into two groups, giving some a placebo and the others a supplement containing L. acidophilus DDS-1 and B. lactis UABLA-12 with FOS.  The twice-daily dose provided about 10 billion CFU/g of the probiotics. After four weeks, the probiotic groups displayed a 4.7% decline in AD (measured by the SCORAD indexes), and their quality of life improved by 33% (measured by IDQOL score). Over the course of the study, children in the active group experienced a total decline in symptoms of 14.2%; the placebo group only had a 7.8% decline.

In conclusion, the use of a probiotic mixture containing L. acidophilus DDS-1, B. lactis UABLA-12 and fructooligosaccharide was associated with a significant clinical improvement in children with AD. However, the effectiveness of such therapy in adults with AD needs further exploration to prove conclusive.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, Aug. 2010 (epub July 21, 2010)