Miscellaneous
Title: Effects of probiotic supplementation on natural killer cell function in healthy elderly individuals: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Journal: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
This study aims to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplements in enhancing natural killer (NK) cells in healthy elderly individuals. Two independent reviewers identified randomized control trials (RCTs) of supplementing probiotics and how it influenced NK cell function in elderly individuals. These trials were heterogeneous in study design and probiotic supplementation (including genus, strain, dose and duration). 5 of these trials used Lactobacillus interventions either alone or along with Bifidobacterium. Only one focused on Bacillus coagulants. The supplementation went on from anywhere between 3 to 12 weeks, and the doses, from 1 × 10 9 to 4 × 10 10 colony-forming units. Upon analysing the data, it was seen that probiotics significantly increased NK cell activity in healthy elderly individuals. However, this data isn’t conclusive enough to form an association between probiotic supplementation and enhancement of NK cell function. Many more RCTs are needed with sufficient sample sizes and long-term follow-ups to find out the proper impact of probiotics on healthy elderly individuals.
Title: Composition of Coloured Gastric Residuals in Extremely Preterm Infants-A Nested Prospective Observational StudyThe effect of probiotics on prevention of upper respiratory tract infections in the paediatric community – a systematic review
I E Emre, Y Eroglu, A Kara, E C Dinleyici, M Ozen Benef Microbes. 2020 May 11;11(3):201-211.
Abstract:
Prevention of acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) is becoming an increasingly important concept in public health application due to the increase in antibiotic resistance. Probiotics have been shown to have some effect on prevention in various reviews. In this study we aimed to re-assess the effect of probiotics as there has been a substantial increase in literature regarding the effects and safety of probiotics in the paediatric population. Two major databases were systematically searched to identify clinical trials eligible for inclusion.
