A study shows probiotics from Probi have a suppressing effect on celiac autoimmunity and may delay the onset of the disease in children genetically predisposed for gluten intolerance (celiac disease, CD).
Celiac disease affects up to 3% of the population and currently the introduction of a lifelong gluten-free diet is the only available treatment.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled intervention study was performed by Dr. Daniel Agardh and his research team at Lund University with the objective of evaluating the effect of Probi’s probiotic strains Lactobacillus plantarum Heal 9 and Lactobacillus paracasei 8700:2 on CD autoimmunity.
Some 78 asymptomatic children (3-7 years old) with an increased risk for developing CD were randomly allocated to a daily consumption of either the probiotic product or a placebo for six months whilst on a gluten-containing diet.
The children were identified as a subpopulation in a multinational and multiyear autoimmunity study with thousands of children.
The study results are surprisingly consistent and show that the consumption of the probiotics is associated with suppressing effects on celiac autoimmunity in the children.
The levels of the disease-related antibodies were significantly reduced in the probiotic group and significantly increased in the placebo group during the course of the study.
In addition, several significant differences were observed between the groups on a cellular level indicating that the probiotic may counteract CD-associated ongoing immunological and inflammatory response.
