E. Holland Durando, Washington University School of Medicine
David Schnadower
Like most people, I have long believed that probiotics are good for me based solely on Jamie Lee Curtis’ endorsement of Activia yogurt. But what, if anything, do probiotics really do for us?
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine are trying to answer that very question with a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of probiotics on children.
Probiotic foods and supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry annually, but little research has been done to evaluate how much the microorganisms benefit digestive health.
The clinical trial led by researchers at the university tests the use of a common probiotic in treating infants and young children with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, also known as the flu or a stomach virus. The study is funded by a $3.6 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.
There’s no current treatment for gastroenteritis in children, other than medication to help nausea and fluids to combat dehydration. Lead researcher and pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital David Schnadower wants to know if probiotics could fill this need.
The trial will test about 900 children ranging from three months to four years old who come in for treatment of stomach troubles at St. Louis Children’s Hospital or one of eight other participating medical centers. They’ll be randomly assigned an FDA-approved probiotic sold over the counter, such as Culturelle, or a placebo treatment and standard clinical care.
Researchers will measure if the treatment really works by monitoring the severity of the symptoms, patient diaries, and surveys and checkups throughout the year after the initial visit. Schnadower and his fellow researchers hope that the trial will decisively answer if probiotics are safe, helpful, and cost-effective for treating the tummy woes that trouble children.
