Cochrane

There is not enough evidence to recommend using probiotics for the treatment of eczema. Eczema is a skin condition characterised by an itchy red rash, which affects between 5 and 20% of people at some time in their life. People with eczema have different bacteria in their gut to people without eczema, and sometimes they have inflammation in their gut. ...

Not enough evidence yet that probiotics will help reduce the chance of babies being born too early. Being born early (before 37 weeks) or very early (before 34 weeks) can cause severe health problems for babies, and worry and anxiety for parents. Women who go into labour too soon often have an infection and it is thought that this is what stimulates ...

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a condition where the mother has high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. It is associated with a range of adverse pregnancy outcomes for the mother, such as pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure with protein in the urine) and instrumental or operative delivery, as well as for the infants who may be born large-for-gestational ...

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common causes of genital discomfort in women of reproductive age. This condition occurs when there is an imbalance in the population of normal vaginal micro-organism with depletion of the dominant lactobacilli and overgrowth of other types of bacteria. Treatment of this condition using recommended antibiotics ...

Why the review is important Hepatic encephalopathy is a disorder of brain function as a result of liver failure or portosystemic shunt or both. Both hepatic encephalopathy (clinically overt) and minimal hepatic encephalopathy (not clinically overt) significantly impair patient’s quality of life and daily functioning and represent a significant burden ...

Persistent diarrhoea is defined as a diarrhoeal episode that starts acutely but then lasts for 14 days or more, and it is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five years old in developing countries throughout the world. The cause of persistent diarrhoea is not completely understood but is likely to be complex; this in turn ...

Episodes of acute infectious diarrhoea remain a major disease burden throughout the world, especially in developing countries. They are due to infection by many different organisms. Most episodes are self-limiting and usually investigations are not done to identify the infectious agent. The main risk to health is dehydration and management aims to improve ...

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines which has periods of inactivity and periods when it flares up. Crohn's disease can affect any part of the digestive tract, from the mouth to the anus. The most common symptoms of Crohn's disease are abdominal pain, and diarrhoea. Probiotics are living microorganisms that are thought ...

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disorder of the large bowel. Probiotics are living microorganisms that are thought to alter the growth of bacteria in the bowel and reduce inflammation. This review investigated the evidence for the use of probiotics for the maintenance of remission in UC. Four studies were identified which ...

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common condition resulting in inflammation of the colon. Current treatments for this condition result in side effects in a significant proportion of patients and consequently alternative treatments are being sought. Probiotics are live microorganisms which have been used to treat other inflammatory conditions such as gastroenteritis ...