Bacteria in Babies May Help Prevent Atopic Dermatitis

Sunday April 27, 2008
There's been a lot of research lately into ways to prevent children from getting atopic dermatitis. Studies have looked at the foods a breast-feeding mom eats, whether infants are breast or bottle fed, when babies start eating solid food, and feeding prebiotics or probiotics to babies to prevent or lessen the symptoms of atopic dermatitis. At best, these studies show further study is needed.
Along this line, recent studies presented at the International Symposium on Early Nutrition Programming found that bacteria in babies guts may be an area to focus on. These studies showed that babies who have a family history of atopic dermatitis have a higher chance of not developing it themselves if they have certain bacteria in their intestines.
It makes sense that the right balance of bacteria could be helpful. Soon after birth bacteria colonize babies' guts and their immune systems start to work developing what is known as gut immunity. Gut immunity is important because it's the first line of defense against absorption of substances that could trigger allergies.
The investigators are hoping that the risk of atopic dermatitis can be lessened by giving babies the right bacterial strains and prebiotic mixtures to boost their immune systems.

Source:
http://dermatology.about.com