Fonterra Expert Warns to Look Beyond Meta-Analyses to Identify Effective Probiotic Strains for Infants

Dr James Dekker, Senior Research Scientist for Fonterra and a leading expert in probiotics and immunology, will emphasise the need for paediatricians and health care professionals to look beyond meta-analyses to identify effective probiotic strains for infants during a series of talks in Russia this month.

13 Feb 2013 --- Dekker has been invited to speak at the XVII Summit of the Pediatricians of Russia, taking place from February 14-17 2013 in Moscow. He will also address the Russian Medical Academy for Postgraduate Training and the Scientific Centre for Children’s Health at the Institute of Paediatrics.

“Probiotics is still a relatively new and fast-moving area, and as such, decisions are often made based on meta-analyses complied from clinical trials with a range of different probiotics. However, the majority of such analyses directly compare all the different probiotics strains as one, whereas each different probiotic strain needs to be assessed on its own merits,” says Dekker.

Dekker’s lecture will focus on the evidence for the use of probiotics for allergy prevention and treatment in infants and young children, and will highlight that not all probiotic strains are equally effective.

“It is important to first understand the complete set of data for each probiotic strain and to consider not only the result on an allergy prevention study but to take into account the safety data and information on long term effects,” says Dekker.

“Studies also need to be performed in the target age group. The development of the gut microbiota in infants is incredibly complex – so we must not assume children to be mini adults in this regard,” adds Dekker.

Fonterra research has shown the use of probiotics to aid allergy prevention and treatment to be top of mind for Russian medical professionals. Furthermore, Fonterra’s own consumer research has shown that Russian mum’s are familiar with probiotics and see them as a key ingredient to meet several health needs of infants.

Dekker has played a leading role in developing clinical proof of efficacy in infants for Fonterra’s probiotic strain Lb. rhamnosus HN001 (DR20). A recent University of Otago study showed that this probiotic strain reduced the occurrence of eczema symptoms in children up to four years of age by almost 50%, even when the children stopped taking the probiotic at two years of age.