Probiotics Are No Panacea

Jabr, Ferris

doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0717-26

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…These differences in probiotic effects due to diet and genotype demonstrate that it is essential to investigate probiotics in a complex model to fully understand how they modulate host physiology in order to properly apply them to improve human health.Regardless of how sketchy the current causal picture is of microbiota and mental health, probiotics are a commercial goldmine. They are the basis of an industry that already (in 2015) earns 35 billion dollars per year (Jabr 2017). To gain a closer view of the appeal of probiotics, we examined patenting trends for microbiota and probiotics.…”

Section: Strong Claims and Interpretationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbiota-gut-brain research: A critical analysis

Hooks

Konsman²,

O’Malley

2018

Behav Brain Sci

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Microbiota-gut-brain (MGB) research is a fast-growing field of inquiry with important implications for how human brain function and behaviour are understood. Researchers manipulate gut microbes ('microbiota') to reveal connections between intestinal microbiota and normal brain functions (e.g., cognition, emotion, memory) or pathological states (e.g., anxiety and mood disorders, neural developmental disorders such as autism). Many claims are made about causal relationships between gut microbiota and human behaviour. By uncovering these relationships, MGB research aims to offer new explanations of mental health and potential avenues of treatment.So far, limited evaluation has been made of MGB's methods and its core experimental findings, many of which are extensively reiterated in copious reviews of the field. These factors, plus the self-help potential of MGB, have combined to encourage uncritical public uptake of MGB discoveries. Both social and professional media focus on the potential for dietary intervention in mental health, and causal relationships are assumed to be established.Our target article has two main aims. One is to examine critically the core practices and findings of experimental MGB research, and to raise questions about them for brain and behavioural scientists who may not be familiar with the field. The other is to challenge the way in which MGB findings are presented. Our positive goal is to suggest how current problems and weaknesses may be addressed, in order for both scientific and public audiences to gain a clearer picture of MGB research and its strengths and limitations.

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Section: Strong Claims and Interpretationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7 in the Supplementary Material). Commercial investment in probiotics is increasing (Jabr 2017; Olle 2013), as is academic patenting activity related to probiotic and other microbiota-based therapies (Supplementary Fig. S1).…”

Section: Strong Claims and Interpretationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiota-gut-brain research: A critical analysis

Hooks

Konsman²,

O’Malley

2018

Behav Brain Sci

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“…Regardless of how sketchy the current causal picture is of microbiota and mental health, probiotics are a commercial goldmine. They are the basis of an industry that already (in 2015) earns 35 billion dollars per year (Jabr 2017). To gain a closer view of the appeal of probiotics, we examined patenting trends for microbiota and probiotics.…”

Section: Probiotic Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why don't probiotics work?

Korte¹,

Korte²

2019

Behav Brain Sci

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The conclusions reached by Hooks et al. urge the field to investigate the complex multipathway interactions between the microbiome and the gut-brain axis to understand the potential causal relationships involved. Claims in the field of microbiota-gut-brain research remain problematic without appropriate controls and adequate statistical power. A crucial question that follows from the authors' extensive review is: “Why don't probiotics work?”

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“…6 Although quiescent for more than half a century, the notion of a therapeutic role of probiotics has gained relatively recent traction, with the probiotics market estimated to have exceeded $35 billion in 2015. 7 The field of probiotics research is still growing and is rife with studies that include small numbers of patients, use different probiotic strains, and have mixed results regarding the utility of probiotics. Further, the concept of strain specificity, in which effects of the probiotic in question are attributable to a specific strain that are not necessarily present in other strains of the same bacteria or yeast, has caused further complexity in this area of research given the lack of strain data present in early work on probiotics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives from the Society for Pediatric Research: Probiotic use in urinary tract infections, atopic dermatitis, and antibiotic-associated diarrhea: an overview

2020

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Probiotics have received significant attention within both the scientific and lay communities for their potential health-promoting properties, including the treatment or prevention of various conditions in children. In this article, we review the published data on use of specific probiotic strains for three common pediatric conditions: the prevention of urinary tract infections and antibiotic-associated diarrhea and the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Research into the utility of specific probiotic strains is of varying quality, and data are often derived from small studies and case series. We discuss the scientific merit of these studies, their overall findings regarding the utility of probiotics for these indications, issues in reporting of methods, and results from these clinical trials, as well as future areas of investigation.

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Probiotics Are No Panacea

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Microbiota-gut-brain research: A critical analysis

Microbiota-gut-brain research: A critical analysis

Why don't probiotics work?

Perspectives from the Society for Pediatric Research: Probiotic use in urinary tract infections, atopic dermatitis, and antibiotic-associated diarrhea: an overview

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