No abstract

The results indicate that daily consumption of a fermented dairy product containing Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 could reduce the risk of common infections in stressed individuals such as shift workers.

<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common disease in infancy, for which topical steroids are the first-line therapy but have side effects. Innovative approaches are needed to reduce the burden of AD and corticosteroid usage in infants. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The once-daily consumption of heat-treated probiotic <i>Lactobacillus paracasei</i> GM-080 or placebo for 16 weeks as supplementary approach to topical treatment with fluticasone propionate cream was compared in AD infants aged 4–30 months. Outcomes were SCORAD and its subscores, TEWL, Infants’ Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQOL), corticoid “sparing effect,” CCL17/TARC, and IgE status. <b><i>Results:</i></b> SCORAD, objective SCORAD, itching, and IDQOL decreased significantly (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001) over the treatment period in both treatment groups. Slight decreases (ns) were noted in TEWL in lesional and unaffected skin and CCL17 levels. There were no differences between the treatment groups. Total IgE increased over the treatment period in both groups, with significantly higher increase in the heat-treated probiotic group (<i>p</i> = 0.038). There was no evidence of a corticoid “sparing effect” by the probiotic. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> In this design, the probiotic <i>L. paracasei</i> was not beneficial as a complementary approach to topical corticosteroids in infants with AD. However, slight beneficial effects may have been masked by the moderate potency corticoid.

The nutritional composition of human milk evolves over the course of lactation, to match the changing needs of infants. This single-arm, non-inferiority study evaluated growth against the WHO standards in the first year of life, in infants consecutively fed four age-based formulas with compositions tailored to infants’ nutritional needs during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd–6th, and 7th–12th months of age. Healthy full-term formula-fed infants (n = 32) were enrolled at ≤14 days of age and exclusively fed study formulas from enrollment, to the age of four months. Powdered study formulas were provided in single-serving capsules that were reconstituted using a dedicated automated preparation system, to ensure precise, hygienic preparation. The primary outcome was the weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) at the age of four months (vs. non-inferiority margin of −0.5 SD). Mean (95% CI) z-scores for the WAZ (0.12 (−0.15, 0.39)), as well as for the length-for-age (0.05 (−0.19, 0.30)), weight-for-length (0.16 (−0.16, 0.48)), BMI-for-age (0.11 (−0.20, 0.43)), and head circumference-for-age (0.41 (0.16, 0.65)) at the age of four months, were non-inferior. Throughout the study, anthropometric z-scores tracked closely against the WHO standards (within ±1 SD). In sum, a four-stage, age-based infant formula system with nutritional compositions tailored to infants’ evolving needs, supports healthy growth consistent with WHO standards, for the first year of life.

Goals:The aim of this study was to validate the ability of symptom frequency questionnaire to differentiate between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients and healthy subjects.Background:A digestive symptom frequency questionnaire (DSFQ) was previously used in a food efficacy trial in a non-IBS population with mild gastrointestinal symptoms.Study:We compared 2 well-defined populations: 100 IBS patients fulfilling Rome III criteria (mean age 32 y; range, 18 to 59 y), and 100 sex-matched and age-matched healthy subjects. Frequency of individual digestive symptoms (abdominal pain/discomfort, bloating, flatulence, borborygmi) was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale (from none to everyday of the week) and the IBS severity with the IBS-SSS questionnaire. Health-Related Quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed with the Food and Benefits Assessment (FBA) and Functional Digestive Disorders Quality of Life (FDDQL) questionnaires. The digestive (dis)comfort dimension of these questionnaires was considered as the main dimension for HRQoL.Results:The DSFQ discriminated IBS from healthy subjects with a significant difference (P<0.001) between groups (estimated mean difference=5.58; 95% CI, 4.91-6.28). On the basis of the ROC curve (AUC=0.9479), a cutoff value of 5 gives a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 84%, with a positive likelihood ratio of 5.75. Composite score of symptoms correlated strongly (P<0.0001) with digestive discomfort measured by FDDQL (−0.816), digestive comfort measured by FBA (−0.789), and the IBS-SSS score (0.762).Conclusions:Measurement of digestive symptom frequency by means of the DSFQ can differentiate IBS from healthy subjects, and shows a good correlation with other validated questionnaires (clinical trial #NCT01457378).