Giving the probiotic supplement Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) to high-risk infants in the first 6 months of life is not effective in lessening incidence of eczema, asthma, or rhinitis in later childhood, researchers have found.
The researchers, led by Michael D. Cabana, MD, MPH, with the Children's Hospital of Montefiore, New York, said they cannot support its use in this population of children at high risk for allergic disease. Findings were published in Pediatrics.
Jonathan Spergel, MD, PhD, chief of the allergy program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who was not part of the study, said the "small, but very interesting study adds to the literature indicating that allergy prevention needs to be a multifactorial approach and simply adding LGG in a select population makes no difference."
He noted that the study of probiotics for allergic conditions is complex as it depends on many factors, such as the child's environment, including exposure to pets and pollution, and whether the child was delivered vaginally or by cesarean section.
Study Builds On Previous Work
The new study builds on the same researchers' randomized, double-masked, parallel-arm, controlled Trial of Infant Probiotic Supplementation(TIPS). That study investigated whether daily administration of LGG in the first 6 months to children at high risk for allergic disease because of asthma in a parent, could decrease their cumulative incidence of eczema.
