: Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis Reduced Diarrhoea in Children

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 494 children showed that supplementation of Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis significantly reduced episodes of diarrhoea. Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis was particularly effective in children with lower nutritional status. Another probiotic strain, which was also tested, was without effect.

-Study design
The six month long double-blind, placebo-controlled study was performed in Indonesia and included 494 healthy children aged one to six years. The children were randomly assigned to receive low-lactose milk with or without Lactobacillus casei 431 or Lactobacillus reuteri DSM17938.
Primary outcome was number and duration of acute diarrhoeal episodes. Diarrhoea was measured both according to the World Health Organisation's definition of diarrhoea, greater than or equal to3 loose/liquid stools in 24 hours, and as incidence of all diarrhoea, greater than or equal to2 loose/liquid stools in 24 hours. Secondary outcome was number and duration of acute respiratory infections.

-Significant results only with Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis
The results showed that the incidence of all diarrhoea episodes was significantly reduced by 32 per cent in the group supplemented by Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis compared to placebo. In children with lower nutritional status (below median height and weight for the age group) Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis had significant effect on both WHO defined and all episodes of diarrhoea.
None of the other interventions showed any significant effects on either WHO defined or all episodes of diarrhoea and none of the interventions affected incidence or duration of acute respiratory infections. An additional finding was significantly reduced antibiotic use in the Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis supplemented children compared to those given placebo.
The study was conducted independently from BioGaia [http://www.biogaia.com ] and the results were announced in a press release by NIZO food research on 21 February 2012: http://www.nizo.com/news/latest-news/56/bovee
The study will be published in Journal of Pediatrics. Doctor Rina Agustina will also present the results at the International Symposium of Probiotics and Prebiotics in Pediatrics (IS3P) on 24 February 2012.
"These new and very positive results with Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis confirm earlier studies with this probiotic strain in children with acute diarrhoea. As the other probiotic tested in the study did not show any positive effects, this strengthens the importance of using the right strain when choosing a probiotic," says Peter Rothschild, President at BioGaia.