Crying Time and RORγ/FOXP3 Expression in Lactobacillus reuteri DSM17938-Treated Infants with Colic: A Randomized Trial

Abstract

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00893711.

What can the gut microbiome teach us about the connections between child physical and mental health? A systematic review

“…Gut microbiome differences at baseline and following intervention varied across studies, depending on the physical health condition and type of analysis conducted. Compared to healthy controls, studies showed that infants with colic have an atypical microbial profile (Mentula et al, ; Pärtty et al, ; Savino et al, ), including lower levels of Bifidobacterium (Pärtty et al, ), consistent with the extant literature (Rhoads et al, ; de Weerth, Fuentes, Puylaert, & de Vos, ). Intervention had no effect on measures of the whole microbiome in infants with colic or IBS (Baldassarre et al, ; Fatheree et al, ; Nation et al, ; Roos et al, ; Shulman et al, ; Sung et al, ), although this may be at least partly attributable to the shallow depth of resolution in analyses.…”

“…Second, prebiotic psyllium fiber reduced pain frequency, but not severity, compared to placebo in children with IBS (Shulman et al, ). Third, Savino et al () reported elevated levels of fecal calprotectin in infants with colic compared to healthy controls at baseline, which declined over the intervention period only in the probiotic treatment group—although this was the only study (of five) to report an effect on fecal calprotectin. No negative treatment‐associated effects were reported across the studies.…”

“…Generally, lactobacilli and/or bifidobacteria were increased after intervention (Mentula et al, ; Pärtty et al, ; Savino et al, ), with one exception (Baldassarre et al, ), where only a trend for increased lactobacilli was observed ( p = 0.053). Results for E. coli were less consistent; studies reported decreased levels in the intervention group (Savino et al, ), no difference between intervention and control groups (Savino et al, ; Sung et al, ), or increased rates of colonization in infants who received the probiotic (Nation et al, ). Enterococci (which include common commensal species) were found to be increased in one study (Mentula et al, ), while another study found no change in levels of Clostridium butyricum (Savino et al, ).…”

“…There were, however, mixed results in terms of whether probiotic intervention affected crying. Three studies reported no differences between treatment and placebo control groups (Fatheree et al, ; Mentula et al, ; Nation et al, ), and three studies reported a significant reduction in crying time in infants receiving probiotic treatment compared to the placebo (Baldassarre et al, ; Pärtty et al, ; Savino et al, ). In terms of colic symptoms, two studies reported significant, but conflicting, differences between probiotic and placebo groups.…”

Probiotics in Disease Prevention and Treatment

“…Using a microarray technique and prospectively following a defined newborn population in Nijmegen, Holland, de Weerth et al found that the “top 10% of crybabies” harbored increased Proteobacteria, a group that would encompass both Klebsiella and E. coli . Two studies showed reduced lactobacilli, and 2 studies (1 our own) have shown elevated fecal calprotectin, a marker of gut inflammation …”