Potential probiotic effects beyond gut: psoriasis, CFS

Date: Aug-13-2013A new study shows that a probiotic available commercially in the US for fortifying the digestive system, has
effects beyond the gastrointestinal tract: it may also have effects against non-gut inflammation such as in psoriasis and chronic
fatigue syndrome (CFS).

The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Gut Microbes is thought to be important because it
is the first to show a single probiotic can influence not only the mucosal immune system but also the systemic immune
system in humans.

The mucosal immune system protects the internal mucosal surfaces of the body such as the gastrointestinal, urogenital and
respiratory tracts. These internal surfaces act as a barrier to the outside world for the internal tissues of the body, which are then further protected by the systemic immune system.

There is some convincing evidence that probiotics, or gut-friendly bacteria, influence the development and
maintenance not only of the microbial balance inside the gut and the mucosal immune system but also the systemic immune response.

The name of the probiotic in this new study is Bifidobacterium infantis 35624, which was discovered in the
early 1990s by microbiologists at Alimentary Health, a development biotech based in Cork, Ireland, in partnership with
Procter and Gamble.

The gut-friendly bacterium is the main ingredient in Procter & Gamble's Align dietary supplement which is
commercially available in the US.

The new study, which was conducted by scientists from Alimentary Health and the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at
University College Cork, includes three separate randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trials of the effect of
the probiotic in both gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal related disorders.

For the trials, the team recruited 22 patients with the gastrointestinal disorder ulcerative colitis (UC), 26
patients with the inflammatory skin condition psoriasis, and a further 48 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS),
another inflammatory disease.

There was also a group of 35 healthy volunteers. These were used as baseline references for levels of inflammation
markers in the patients and some went on to take part in the trial itself.
Markers of inflammation

At the start of the study, all patients (with gastrointestinal UC, and non-gastrointestinal CFS and psoriasis) had
significantly raised levels of three blood biomarkers for inflammation compared to the controls.

The three biomarkers were C-reactive protein (CRP) and the pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha
(TNF-a) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

During the trial period, which lasted between 6 and 8 weeks, each patient and 22 of the healthy controls received
identical sachets containing either the probiotic or a placebo.

At the end of the trial, the researchers found that compared with the controls:

All three groups of patients who received the probiotic had significantly lower levels of CRP compared with
placebo.
However, only CFS and psoriasis patients showed reductions in TNF-a, and only UC and CFS patients showed reductions
in IL-6.

The researchers explain that the levels of inflammatory marker reduction seen in the trial usually count as remission
and indicate a lower risk of relapse.

The researchers say their paper is the first to show a probiotic resulting in consistent reductions in a number of
inflammation markers across a range of conditions, gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal. Moreover, the findings
also show the extent to which B. infantis 35624 in particular can affect the human immune system.

Co-author Professor Eamonn Quigley, chief of the gastroenterology and hepatology division of Houston Methodist
Hospital in Texas, said:

"Some probiotics alter the immune system in animal studies but few translate the effects to humans.

What is impressive about these results is that not only are they from human subjects, but from individuals with common inflammatory conditions."

Prof. Quigley, who is also of Weill Cornell College of Medicine in Houston, adds that the study raises the "exciting
prospect" of using specific probiotics to influence the immune system from inside the gut.

In 2009, a study found that out of 13 different individual strains or preparations reviewed, B. infantis
35624 was the only one that signficantly improved IBS
symptoms.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

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