4 ms·

What I understand is that no, because the probiotic is just a digestive support and used in the study as being a 'supportive' agent. The real actionable item i

What I understand is that no, because the probiotic is just a digestive support and used in the study as being a 'supportive' agent. The real actionable item is adding the allergen intentionally and increasing the dose over time.

gehwartzen 9y ago
That's not entirely true. The study itself lists several previous works that only introduced the peanut allergen in varying amount over time. The results of those studies show that yes the body increasingly builds antibodies while the allergen is introduced but those effects diminish rapidly after the treatment is stopped. The importance of this work is that with the simultaneous introduction of this bacteria the effect is maintained for years. The bacteria plays a important role in allowing the body to retain the immunity. "Moreover, because there was no convincing evidence that allergen OITalone was effective in promoting sustained unresponsiveness at the time our randomized controlled trial (RCT) was designed and initiated, we elected to undertake a clinical trial evaluating whether coadministration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus CGMCC 1.3724 (NCC4007) and peanut OIT can induce sustained unresponsiveness to peanut among children with peanut allergy (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN 12608000594325, 25/11/2008). This probiotic was selected based on its demonstrated tolerance-promoting effects, including induction of regulatory T and TH1 cytokine responses."
- gojomo 9y ago
  It still would have been nice if they'd done a control group, an allergen-only group, and an allergen-and-probiotic group – all from the exact same initial randomization and using the exact same administration/follow-through practices. That would have best quantified what, if any, added benefit the probiotic creates.
  - gehwartzen 9y ago
    True. Additionally it would be good to have a baseline measurement of the probiotic population in each subject prior to starting.

gehwartzen 9y ago

That's not entirely true. The study itself lists several previous works that only introduced the peanut allergen in varying amount over time. The results of those studies show that yes the body increasingly builds antibodies while the allergen is introduced but those effects diminish rapidly after the treatment is stopped. The importance of this work is that with the simultaneous introduction of this bacteria the effect is maintained for years. The bacteria plays a important role in allowing the body to retain the immunity. "Moreover, because there was no convincing evidence that allergen OITalone was effective in promoting sustained unresponsiveness at the time our randomized controlled trial (RCT) was designed and initiated, we elected to undertake a clinical trial evaluating whether coadministration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus CGMCC 1.3724 (NCC4007) and peanut OIT can induce sustained unresponsiveness to peanut among children with peanut allergy (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN 12608000594325, 25/11/2008). This probiotic was selected based on its demonstrated tolerance-promoting effects, including induction of regulatory T and TH1 cytokine responses."

gojomo 9y ago
It still would have been nice if they'd done a control group, an allergen-only group, and an allergen-and-probiotic group – all from the exact same initial randomization and using the exact same administration/follow-through practices. That would have best quantified what, if any, added benefit the probiotic creates.
- gehwartzen 9y ago
  True. Additionally it would be good to have a baseline measurement of the probiotic population in each subject prior to starting.