Allergy

There has been a dramatic increase in the last 50 years in the prevalence of allergic disorders in the developed world and today as many as 1 in 4 Americans and 1 in 3 in the UK are expected to develop allergy at some time in their lives.

Recent research indicates that allergies can be the result of a profound failure of immune regulation during development (Prescott 2003). Exposure to microbes is probably the most powerful signal directing the normal development of the immune system and there is strong evidence to support the idea that reduced microbial exposure in early childhood may be a cause of the rising incidence of allergic disorders (Björksten 2004).

This has generated an interest to provide microbes/probiotics in early life to optimise immune development and reduce allergic disease (Prescott & Björkstén 2007).