Probiotics, breastfeeding and atopic eczema.

This article focuses on several aspects as follows; the relationship between permeability of the gastrointestinal tract and atopic eczema, probiotics and eczema, probiotics and the immune system in the gastrointestinal tract, breastfeeding and immunomodulation, and the relation between breastfeeding and the development of atopic eczema. It is concluded that there is evidence that some probiotic strains seem to be beneficial in the treatment of atopic eczema. GUT MUCOSAL BARRIER AND ATOPIC ECZEMA The gut mucosal barrier of patients with atopic eczema is impaired. In an in vitro study Majamaa & Isolauri (1) studied the absorption of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) through the gut mucosal barrier. Small intestinal biopsies were studied in Ussing chambers, measuring the absorption of both intact and degraded HRP. Compared with controls, absorption in patients with atopic eczema is increased. There are also several studies showing increased intestinal permeability in patients with bronchial asthma. Benard et al. (2) studied the urinary excretion of Cr EDTA, a recognized method of monitoring intestinal absorption, in asthmatics, in patients with chronic obstructive airways disease and in controls. There were significant differences between the asthmatics and the other two groups in respect of increased intestinal permeability. There was no significant difference in intestinal permeability between patients with allergic and non-allergic asthma, and the intestinal permeability was not correlated with the severity of asthma as measured by FEV1.