title: Effect of Saccharomyces boulardii in children with acute gastroenteritis and its relationship to the immune response.
abstract: We evaluated the effect of Saccharomyces boulardii administration in otherwise healthy children aged between 6 months and 10 years who were admitted for acute diarrhoea (15 males, 12 females). The patients were randomized into two groups: group 1 (n = 16) received 250 mg S. boulardii dissolved in 5 ml of water orally twice daily for 7 days and group 2 (n = 11) received placebo. Clinical and laboratory assessments were performed on admission and on day 7 of follow-up. Both groups experienced reduced daily stool frequency, the decrease being significantly greater in group 1 on days 3 and 4 compared with group 2. Group 1 demonstrated significant increases in serum immunoglobulin A and decreases in C-reactive protein levels on day 7. The percentage of CD8 lymphocytes on day 7 was significantly higher in group 1 than group 2. This study confirmed the efficacy of S. boulardii in paediatric acute gastroenteritis and the findings suggest that S. boulardii treatment enhances the immune response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Medical Faculty, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey. ozkant@uludag.edu.tr
authors.forename: T B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Erdemir
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Budak
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010919:Placebos; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012440:Saccharomyces
chemical_list: D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D010919:Placebos; D002097:C-Reactive Protein