title: Elimination diet and intestinal permeability in atopic eczema: a preliminary study.
abstract: We measured small intestinal permeability to lactulose and rhamnose in 18 healthy children and in 15 children with atopic eczema, before and after a 14-day elimination diet. The children with atopic eczema had higher initial urinary lactulose/rhamnose ratios than the controls. After dietary restriction, there was no overall change in permeability. Dietary therapy did however result in a large reduction in permeability in three of the nine children whose skin disease was improved, but a statistically significant decrease in permeability was not observed in the diet-responsive group as a whole. Larger studies would be required to confirm that dietary restrictions can reduce intestinal permeability in some children with atopic eczema.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Clinica Pediatrica, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caffarelli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cavagni
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Menzies
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bertolini
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Atherton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis; D005746:Gastric Emptying / Q000502:physiology; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000502:physiology*; D007792:Lactulose / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000652:urine; D008297:Male; D011852:Radioallergosorbent Test; D012210:Rhamnose / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D007792:Lactulose; D012210:Rhamnose