Here are the top 10 things that probiotic may help with.
Viral Respiratory Infections
Viral respiratory infections are the most common diseases in humans. A large range of etiologic agents challenge the development of efficient therapies. Research suggests that probiotics are able to decrease the risk or duration of respiratory infection symptoms. Numerous clinical trials reported that probiotics had beneficial effects in the outcome of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) by exerting antiviral effects directly in probiotic–virus interaction or stimulation of the immune system.
Lehtoranta, L., Pitkäranta, A. and Korpela, R. Probiotics in respiratory virus infections. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis (2014) 33:1289–1302
Functional Bowel Disorders
Functional bowel disorders (FBDs) are functional gastrointestinal disorders with symptoms attributable to the middle or lower gastrointestinal tract. These include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional bloating, functional constipation (FC), functional diarrhea, and unspecified FBD. 1 The FBDs are among the most common gastrointestinal complaints, and they are associated with reduced quality of life. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these disorders are still incompletely understood, but they may be multifactorial, including visceral hypersensitivity, abnormal gastrointestinal motility, altered brain-gut axis, psychological disturbances, and low-grade inflammation. Increasing evidence has emerged of late that intestinal microbiota is involved in the pathogenesis of FBDs.
Lee, H.J., J.K. Choi, H.S. Ryu, C.H. Choi, E.H, Kang, K.S. Park, Y.W. Min, and K.S. Hong. Therapeutic Modulation of Gut Microbiota in Functional Bowel Disorders. J Neurogastroenterol Motil.(2017).23 (1): 10-19
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
One of the most important scientific discoveries of recent years was the disclosure that the intestinal microflora takes part in bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain. Scientists suggest that human gut microflora may even act as the second brain and be responsible for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although human-associated microbial communities are generally stable, they can be altered by common human actions and experiences. Enteric bacteria, commensal, and pathogenic microorganisms, may have a major impact on immune system, brain development, and behavior, as they are able to produce several neurotransmitters and neuromodulators like serotonin, kynurenine, catecholamine, etc., as well as amyloids. However, brain destructive mechanisms, that can lead to dementia and AD, start with the intestinal microbiome dysbiosis, development of local and systemic inflammation, and dysregulation of the gut-brain axis. Increased permeability of the gut epithelial barrier results in invasion of different bacteria, viruses, and their neuroactive products that support neuroinflammatory reactions in the brain. It seems that, inflammatory-infectious hypothesis of AD, with the great role of the gut microbiome, starts to gently push into the shadow the amyloid cascade hypothesis that has dominated for decades. It is
Strongly postulated that AD may begin in the gut, and is closely related to the imbalance of gut microbiota.
Sochocka, M., K. Donskow-Łysoniewska, B. S. Diniz, D. Kurpas, E. Brzozowska and J. Leszek. The Gut Microbiome Alterations and Inflammation-Driven Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease—a Critical Review. Molecular Neurobiology (2019) 56:1841–1851
Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (FGIDs)
The human gut is home to a complex microbial ecosystem with bacteria, fungi, viruses, and
archaea which exist in a mutualistic relationship with the host in homeostatic conditions.
The microbial members along with their genetic content are often referred to as the gut
microbiome and can be viewed as a “dynamic organ” capable of mediating a wide variety of
biochemical transformations that directly impact host physiology in health and disease.
However, a disruption in this equilibrium can lead to alteration of host physiology resulting
in disease states such as functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs).
Shin, G. A. Preidis, R. Shulman, and P. Kashyap. The Gut Microbiome in Adult and Pediatric Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (2019) Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol . 17(2): 256–274.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Gastrointestinal problems have been documented in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Studies have found that these disturbances may be associated with an altered gut microbiome in ASD. Furthermore, in ASD, these alterations are implicated in increased gut permeability, or “leaky
gut”, which allows bacterial metabolites to cross the gut barrier, impacting neurodevelopment during early childhood in susceptible subjects by way of gut-brain axis.
Fowlie, G., N Cohen and X. Ming. The Gut Microbiome in Adult and Pediatric Functional
Gastrointestinal Disorders. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol . 2019, 17(2): 256–274
Aging
Aging is a highly complex process affecting wide array of physiological, genomic, metabolic, and immunological functions. For decades, it has been known that the aging process involves attenuation of the host’s ability to sustain a robust and efficient immune response and metabolic health. However, only recently have progresses in cellular and molecular research enabled us to more clearly understand the various core mechanisms and hallmarks (e.g. senescence i.e. the progressive impairment of cellular/physiological functionalities) that underlie the complex processes of age-associated disturbances in immune system such as inflammation and metabolic dysfunctions. Indeed, these disturbances may be one of the primary risk factors for age-related increased predisposition to various chronic maladies including cardiovascular disorders, infections, bowel diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancers, diabetes, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases. As a result, aging research has experienced an extraordinary progress over recent years, particularly with the speculations that the process of aging could be controlled by maintaining the homeostasis of various genetic, biochemical and immunological processes. Interestingly, many clinical issues, such as concomitant exposure to multiple drugs/antibiotics, dietary modifications and constipation, that generally accompany senescence are also closely correlated with perturbations in gut microbiome composition and functions. Given that the gut microbiome is closely associated with several features of gut barrier integrity, intestinal pro- and anti-inflammatory balance, immune and cardio-metabolic health, and gut-brain axis, these old-age-related clinical issues could clearly contribute to the increased predisposition to various infectious and gut-associated diseases by causing alterations in the microbiota of elderly people. In a nutshell, these evidences suggest that the gut microbiota may be associated with inflammaging and age-related chronic health conditions, and hence could be exploited as a putative target to ameliorate
the aging process [7, 8]. Nagpal, R, R. Mainali, S. Ahmadi, S. Wang, R. Singh, K. Kavanagh, D. W. Kitzman, A. Kushugulova, F. Marotta and H. Yadav, Gut microbiome and aging: Physiological and mechanistic insights. Nutrition and Healthy Aging (2018)4: 267–285
Allergy
The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in immune system development and function. Modification in the gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis) early in life is a critical factor affecting the development of food allergy. Many environmental factors including caesarean delivery, lack of breast milk, drugs, antiseptic agents, and a low-fiber/high-fat diet can induce gut microbiota dysbiosis, and have been associated with the occurrence of food allergy. respiratory microbial communities, including newly appreciated populations of microbes in the lung have been associated with allergic airway inflammation. Current evidence suggests that the presence of particular microbes, especially Streptococcus, Haemophilus, and Morexella species within the airway may shape local immune responses and alter the severity and manifestations of airway inflammation. New technologies and experimental tools have provided information regarding the importance of select bacteria on immune tolerance mechanisms. Short-chain fatty acids are crucial metabolic products of gut microbiota responsible for many protective effects against food allergy. These compounds are involved in epigenetic regulation of the immune system.
Aitoro, B., L. Paparo, A. Amoroso, M. D. Costanzo, L. Cosenza, V. Granata, C. D. Scala, R. Nocerino, G. Trinchese, M. Montella, D. Ercolini and R. B. Canani. Gut Microbiota as a Target for Preventive and Therapeutic Intervention against Food Allergy. Nutrients 2017, 9, 672
Ver Heul , A. J. Planer , A. L Kau . The Human Microbiota and Asthma. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2019;57(3):350-363.
Cancer chemo-therapy
Cancer is a major health burden worldwide, and despite continuous advances in medical therapies, resistance to standard drugs and adverse effects still represent an important cause of therapeutic failure. There is a growing evidence that gut bacteria can affect the response to chemo- and immunotherapeutic drugs by modulating either efficacy or toxicity. Moreover, intratumor bacteria have been shown to modulate chemotherapy response. At the same time, anticancer treatments themselves significantly affect the microbiota composition, thus disrupting
homeostasis and exacerbating discomfort to the patient.
Panebianco, C., A. Andriulli and V. Pazienza. Pharmacomicrobiomics: exploiting the drug-microbiota interactions in anticancer therapies. Microbiome (2018) 6:92.
Hepatitis b
The rapid scientific interest in gut microbiota (GM) has coincided with a global increase in the prevalence of infectious and noninfectious liver diseases. GM, which is also called "the new virtual metabolic organ", makes axis with a number of extraintestinal organs, such as kidneys, brain, cardiovascular, and the bone system. The gut-liver axis has attracted greater attention in recent years. GM communication is bi-directional and involves endocrine and immunological mechanisms. In this way, gut-dysbiosis and composition of "ancient" microbiota could be linked to pathogenesis of numerous chronic liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), development of liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this paper, we discuss the current evidence supporting a GM role in the management of different chronic liver diseases and potential new therapeutic GM targets, like fecal transplantation, antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotics. We conclude that population-level shifts in GM could play a regulatory role in the gut-liver axis and, consequently, etiopathogenesis of chronic liver diseases. This could have a positive impact on future therapeutic strategies.
Milosevic, I., A. Vujovic, A. Barac, M. Djelic, M. Korac, A. R. Spurnic, I. Gmizic, O. Stevanovic, V. Djordjevic, N. Lekic, E. Russo and A. Amedei. Gut-Liver Axis, Gut Microbiota, and Its Modulation in the Management of Liver Diseases: A Review of the Literature, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 395.
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