Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis reduced gastrointestinal symptoms and hospital stay in premature newborns.

The study showed that infants supplemented with L. reuteri Protectis had a significantly reduced number of gastrointestinal symptoms compared to those supplemented with L. rhamnosus (LGG) and controls. Also duration of hospital stay was significantly reduced by L. reuteri Protectis.

“Our study clearly demonstrates the benefits of probiotics in preterms. Especially convincing were the results for L. reuteri,” says Professor Mario Romeo, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University of Catania, Italy.

Apart from positive results on gastrointestinal symptoms (p<0.05) and hospital stay (p<0.0001), supplementation of L. reuteri Protectis also led to a significant reduction in number of days of antibiotic treatment (p<0.05) compared to the LGG and control groups.

“The results are very interesting and we believe they will have an impact on the care of premature newborns,” says Professor Romeo.

Study facts
In this prospective, randomized study 249 premature newborns were consecutively assigned to either supplementation of Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis (10^8 CFU/day), supplementation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (=LGG, 6x10^9 CFU/day) or no supplementation. The probiotic supplementation started within 72 hours of admittance to the neonatal intensive care unit and continued for six weeks or until discharged. The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in the prevention of gastrointestinal colonisation of Candida species, of late-onset sepsis and neurological outcome in preterm newborns. Read more about the study on: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20410904

For additional information contact:
Mario Romeo, Professor, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University of Catania: [email protected]
Eamonn Connolly, Senior Vice President Research, BioGaia: +46 8 555 293 00 or [email protected]

BioGaia is a biotechnology company that develops, markets and sells probiotic products with documented health benefits. The products are primarily based on the lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri (Reuteri), which has probiotic, health-enhancing effects. The class B share of the Parent Company BioGaia AB is quoted on the Small Cap list of the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm. www.biogaia.com