This study is aimed to manipulate the composition of the intestinal flora of the infants born by caesarian section through the administration of the probiotic strain "Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL 2010", in order to evaluate its effects on gut dysbiosis during the first 6 month of life.
There has been increasing interest in the field of human microbiome, considering its impact on health and diseases. The gastrointestinal tract represents the most heavily inhabited organ with microorganisms, counting 10 times the total number of human cells; for this reason, the gut microbiome has recently been referred as a proper organ. Intestinal microbial composition is unique for each individual and it is influenced by numerous factors, of which delivery mode is an important one with gestational age of the newborn, type of feeding and intrapartum or neonatal antibiotic therapy. Recent reports suggest that dysbiosis secondary to delivery mode affects the subsequent regulation of immune response and may be associated with several pathologic conditions, for example allergic diseases or obesity. Moreover, gut microbiome seems to impact on neurodevelopment during first six months of life. Bifidobacteria is the most represented group of intestinal microbiota in the newborn, followed by Enterobacteria, and it plays an important role in the infant gut. This includes the fundamental function performed by Bifidobacterium bifidum: it supplies the nutritional material to the rest of the microbial community, particularly Bifidobacterium breve and Bifidobacterium longum infantis that are the other typical bifidobacteria of the newborn. It is a powerful metabolizer of the intestinal mucus and the HMOs (Human Milk Oligosaccharides) present in breast milk. Thanks to its exocitable enzymes, the degradative catabolism occurs in the intestinal environment. Thus, B. bifidum favour the increase in intestinal richness and biodiversity (9), which correlates with the host's state of health. However, bifidobacteria is reduced in infants born by cesarean delivery. Aim of the study is to assess if the Bifidobacterium Bifidum PRL2010 supplementation effectively ameliorat bifidocentric dysbiosis due to the delivery mode and we want to confirm this by analyzing fecal microbiota in caesarean birth infants.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
20
Probiotic supplement
No probiotic supplementation
Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Santa Maria Goretti Hospital
Latina, Italy
Number of participants with disease
Number of participants with skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases assessed with a questionnaire submitted to parents
Time frame: up to 6 months
Variation in children gut microbiota composition
Variation in gut microbiota composition of children born by caesarean section assessed by faecal colonic microbiota analysis with 16S rRNA technology
Time frame: up to 6 months
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