Clinical Effects of Probiotic Bifidobacterium breve Supplementation in Adult Patients with Atopic Dermatitis

Probiotics (live microbial food supplements) have been shown to be effective in allergic diseases, but the potential of probiotics for treatment of adult atopic dermatitis is not clear. The effect of probiotic Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) for atopic dermatitis was assessed in this study. A total of 24 patients were given either B. breve strain YY or a placebo for 8 weeks. Clinical severity was evaluated by using the severity scoring of atopic dermatitis and quality of life was assessed by Skindex-29-J. In addition, blood and fecal samples were taken before and after the study. The objective severity scoring for atopic dermatitis significantly improved in the probiotic group compared with the placebo group. In the quality of life assessment, the total score showed significant improvement in the probiotic group. The proportion of B. breve in intestinal microflora was increased in the probiotic group. However, no significant change in thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17), immunoglobulin E or the number of eosinophils was found. Our results suggest that B. breve may be beneficial for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. However, since the severity of disease symptoms in the placebo group at the beginning of the study was milder than those in the probiotic group because the number of patients in the present pilot study was relatively small, further study is needed to determine the clinical value of B. breve in adult patients with atopic dermatitis