Improvement of nutritional status and incidence of infection in hospitalised, enterally fed elderly by feeding of fermented milk containing probiotic Lactobacillus johnsonii La1 (NCC533)

Probiotics have potential to improve host immunity; however, there is less evidence showing their efficacy against infections and nutritional status in the elderly. We conducted a double-blinded feeding trial in the elderly to elucidate the effect of fermented milk containing Lactobacillus johnsonii La1 (LC1®) on infections and nutritional status. Twenty-four completely enterally fed elderly in-patients aged over 70 years were randomly assigned into two groups. All subjects were administered 3768kJ (900kcal)/d of total enteral nutrition (EN) through tube feeding for 12 weeks. Subjects in the LC1 group were administered 373kJ (89kcal)/d of LC1 fermented milk after feeding of 3395kJ (811kcal)/d of EN for 12 weeks. In the control group, 373kJ/d of the same EN was replaced from the fermented milk. In the LC1 group, the percentage of days with infections during the run-in observation period was 15·4 (sd 17·3) %, which significantly decreased to 5·7 (sd 8·1) % during the intervention period (P=0·018), and the reduction was larger than that of the control group (P=0·047). Blood Hb increased (P<0·05), and there was a tendency towards an increase in serum albumin and a decrease in TNF-α (a pro-inflammatory cytokine) in the LC1 group. There was a trend towards an increase in blood phagocytic activity (a natural immunity marker) in the subjects whose initial level was low in the LC1 group. There were no changes in those parameters in the control group. Administration of fermented milk containing the probiotic L. johnsonii La1 may contribute to suppressing infections by improving nutritional and immunological status in the elderl

A molecular epidemiological study of respiratory viruses detected in Japanese children with acute wheezing illness

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent studies strongly suggest that some respiratory viruses are associated with the induction of acute wheezing and/or exacerbation of bronchial asthma. However, molecular epidemiology of these viruses is not exactly known.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using PCR technology, we attempted to detect various respiratory viruses from 115 Japanese children. Furthermore, the detected viruses were subjected to homology, pairwise distance, and phylogenetic analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Viruses were detected from 99 (86.1%) patients. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) alone and human rhinovirus (HRV) alone were detected in 47 (40.9%) and 36 (31.3%) patients, respectively. Both RSV and HRV were detected in 14 (12.2%) patients. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) alone and human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) alone were detected in 1 (0.9%) patient each, respectively. Homology and phylogenetic analyses showed that the RSV and HRV strains were classified into genetically diverse species or subgroups. In addition, RSV was the dominant virus detected in patients with no history of wheezing, whereas HRV was dominant in patients with a history of wheezing.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results suggested that these genetically diverse respiratory viruses, especially RSV and HRV, might be associated with wheezing in Japanese children.</p