Effects of the supplementation with a multispecies probiotic on clinical and laboratory recovery of children with newly diagnosed celiac disease: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Elena Lionetti; Vera Dominijanni; Mario Iasevoli; Elisa Cimadamore; Ilaria Acquaviva; Simona Gatti; Chiara Monachesi; Giulia Catassi; Alessandra Pino; Andrea Faragalli; Cinzia Lucia Randazzo; Rosaria Gesuita; Basilio Malamisura; Carlo Catassi

doi:10.1016/j.dld.2023.04.021

Effects of the supplementation with a multispecies probiotic on clinical and laboratory recovery of children with newly diagnosed celiac disease: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Dig Liver Dis. 2023 Oct;55(10):1328-1337. doi: 10.1016/j.dld.2023.04.021. Epub 2023 May 9.

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pediatrics and Center for Celiac Research, DISCO Department, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
² Pediatric Unit and Center for Celiac Disease - University Hospital of Salerno, Campus of Cava de' Tirreni, Italy.
³ Pediatric Gastroenterology and Liver Unit, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Sapienza-University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Catania, Italy; ProBioEtna S.r.l., Spin off of the University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
⁵ Center of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Medical Information Technology, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy; Department of Biomedical Science and Public Health, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
⁶ Division of Pediatrics and Center for Celiac Research, DISCO Department, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: c.catassi@univpm.it.

PMID: 37164895
DOI: 10.1016/j.dld.2023.04.021

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a multispecies probiotic on clinical and laboratory recovery of children with celiac disease (CeD) at diagnosis.

Methods: Children with newly diagnosed CeD entered a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. A gluten-free diet (GFD) plus a multispecies probiotic or placebo were administered for 12 weeks. Growth, laboratory, and clinical parameters were recorded at enrollment, after 3 and 6 months of follow-up.

Results: Overall, 96 children completed the study: 49 in group A (placebo) and 47 in group B (probiotic). A significant increase of BMI-Z score was found in both groups after 3 and 6 months of treatment (p < 0.001), however the increase of BMI-Z score was significantly higher and faster in Group B than in Group A. Other clinical and laboratory parameters improved in both groups after 3 and 6 months (p<0.001), but no difference was found between the groups and a comparable time trend was observed in both groups.

Conclusions: Treatment with a multispecies probiotic induced a higher and faster increase of BMI in children with newly diagnosed CeD. The mechanism of this positive effect remains to be elucidated.

Keywords: Celiac disease; Children; Gluten-free diet; Probiotic.