Effectiveness of Lactobacillus reuteri for prevention and treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders in infants, children and adolescents (Review)
Abstract
Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) with their extremely high prevalence and important influence on patients’ quality of life and health costs represent a major problem. Their etiopathogenesis is multifactorial and disturbances in a composition of intestinal microbiota as well as specific potentially pathogenic microorganisms seem to have crucial role in it. Probiotics with their broad spectrum of actions, including strengthening of colonisatiton resistance against pathogens, enhancement of barrier function, regulation of intestinal immune response, alleviation of inflammation, and both direct and indirect influence on gut motility or sensitivity, represent one of the most promising therapeutic strategies for these disorders. Numerous clinical studies revealed their efficacy in different FGIDs. However, the pathogenesis of different types of disorders is not similar, and neither are mechanisms of action of different probiotic strains. Several Lactobacillus reuteri strains exhibit various characteristics such as secretion of antimicrobial reuterin, production of short-chain fatty acids, down-regulation of inflammatory immune response, and direct influence on enteric nervous system among the others, which render them good candidates for prevention and treatment of various FGIDs. This paper reviews clinical studies on the effectiveness of Lactobacillus reuteri in the therapy of FGIDs in infants, children and adolescents. Results of multiple studies support its use for prevention and treatment of infant colic and improvement of delayed gastric emptying and regurgitation. In addition, individual studies suggest potential usefulness of specific Lactobacillus reuteri strains for the alleviation of constipation and functional abdominal pain.
Downloads
The Author transfers to the Publisher (Zdravniški vestnik/Slovenian Medical Journal) all economic copyrights following form Article 22 of the Slovene Copyright and Related Rights Act (ZASP), including the right of reproduction, the right of distribution, the rental right, the right of public performance, the right of public transmission, the right of public communication by means of phonograms and videograms, the right of public presentation, the right of broadcasting, the right of rebroadcasting, the right of secondary broadcasting, the right of communication to the public, the right of transformation, the right of audiovisual adaptation and all other rights of the author according to ZASP.
The aforementioned rights are transferred non-exclusively, for an unlimited number of editions, for the term of the statutory
The Author can make use of his work himself or transfer subjective rights to others only after 3 months from date of first publishing in the journal Zdravniški vestnik/Slovenian Medical Journal.
The Publisher (Zdravniški vestnik/Slovenian Medical Journal) has the right to transfer the rights, acquired parties without explicit consent of the Author.
The Author consents that the Article be published under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 (attribution-non-commercial) or comparable licence.
