PROBIOTICS have shown promise in reducing the risk of atopic eczema in high-risk infants. This study set out to explore whether this protective effect is linked to changes in the early gut microbiota.
The research involved 46 mother-infant pairs from a previous randomised controlled trial. Mothers received either a combination of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus LPR and Bifidobacterium longum BL999, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei ST11 and Bifidobacterium longum BL999, or a placebo. The intervention began two months before the expected delivery and continued until two months after birth.
All infants were full-term, delivered vaginally, and breastfed. Over a two-year follow-up period, physicians assessed the children for signs of atopic eczema. Their gut microbiota was also analysed at one and six months using 16S rRNA gene sequencing on an Illumina platform.
By the age of two, 19 out of the 46 children had developed atopic eczema. At both one and six months, gut microbial diversity appeared similar between children who developed eczema and those who did not. However, by six months, infants who developed eczema showed a significantly higher relative abundance of Clostridia. Despite this, the probiotic intervention did not lead to notable changes in microbial diversity.
Any effects on microbial composition were inconsistent with the patterns linked to eczema development. This suggests that probiotics’ ability to reduce the risk of atopic eczema may not depend on significant changes in gut microbiota.
These findings imply that the protective effect of maternal probiotic use could operate through other mechanisms, beyond altering early gut microbial diversity or composition.
Katie Wright, EMJ
Reference
Puisto R et al. The role of infant gut microbiota modulation by perinatal maternal probiotic intervention in atopic eczema risk reduction. Neonatology. 2025;122(1):84-94.
