Is there a role for probiotics in prevention and treatment of allergic diseases in children? – review of literature

Allergic diseases in the pediatric population are a significant burden to healthcare systems, families, and children themselves.They decrease patients' quality of life.Some allergic conditions are life-threatening.Therefore, it is vital to investigate new pathways that could facilitate their treatment and prevention.This review gathers information from recent studies regarding probiotics as an additive therapy in allergic bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and food allergy.In light of the increasing prevalence of atopic diseases among children worldwide the "Hygiene hypothesis" gained interest among scientists.It associates the rising incidence of allergies with limited exposure to the natural environment and infectious diseases in early childhood.This absence of immune stimulation presumably causes immunity dysregulation and hyperresponsiveness, resulting in atopy.Probiotics supplementation, aiming to enrich the gut microbiota, has become a field of research.There is hope that a more diverse and abundant microbiome will result in immunity maturation and immunotolerance.Outcomes of conducted trials in the subject vary from apparent preventive or alleviating symptoms effect to no significant difference noted.The authors point out that there should be more research focused on single bacterial strains in a specific disease, precise dosage, and administration period.Overall, taking into account the latest reports, there are more and more studies that show the beneficial effects of probiotics on allergic diseases.However, there is not enough evidence to make recommendations regarding their routine use.