Probiotic friendly bacteria may play role in stopping asthma

Conclusion This complicated and interesting study sheds light on one potential cause of asthma in children, and points towards areas where research might lead to a treatment to prevent it or reduce its severity. However, this exciting prospect depends on much more work to confirm the results of this study and find out whether what seems to work in laboratory mice can also work in people. The idea that reduced exposure to bacteria in childhood might increase the chances of getting allergies and asthma has been around for some time. This theory suggests that, for a child's immune system to develop well, it needs to be exposed to a wide variety of bacteria and viruses. If this doesn't happen, the immune system might become oversensitive and react to things that it shouldn't, like certain types of food, or pollen in the atmosphere. This study suggests that particular types of gut bacteria in the first few months of life might be important for the development of a healthy immune system. However, the study has limitations. While 319 babies were studied, only 22 had wheeze and allergic reactions at age one, and only 19 of these were in the group classified as having, or being at highest risk of, asthma at age three.  We need to see these results replicated in bigger studies to be sure that all or most babies at risk of asthma have low levels of these specific bacteria. Also, this type of study alone cannot prove that the differences in gut bacteria actually cause asthma. There may ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Source Type: news