4. Discussion
cedar pollinosis, allergy, nasal blockage, JCP, eczema
ALLERGY, ECZEMA
This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial examined whether a probiotic, NTM048, increased the amount of s-IgA in saliva of adults who took an oral dose for 16 weeks during the period when JCP are most scattered in the air in Japan. In the current study, there was no promotion of secretion of s-IgA in saliva in the probiotics group at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks after the start of the trial (Table s-IgA is the most abundant immunoglobulin isotype in saliva, and s-IgA protects invasion of microorganisms in oral mucosa.Probiotics reportedly prevented the IgE-associated allergy including eczema.Psychological status was measured by POMS2 following collection of saliva samples, because salivary s-IgA was reported to be affected by acute psychological stress.NTM048 increased the level of succinic acid in fecal samples of all subjects or in samples of patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis (Table This study demonstrated that NTM048 strain ameliorated the nasal blockage in the 12 weeks when JCP was most scattered in the air. Focusing on the relationship between the improvement of nasal blockage and occupation ratio of This study was performed to examine whether NTM048 promoted the secretion of total s-IgA in saliva, and whether any promotion improved Japanese cedar pollinosis. Due to this goal, healthy subjects and patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis were recruited. NTM048 could not promote secretion of total s-IgA in the saliva of either group of adult subjects. The mechanisms of improving nasal blockage in NTM048 administration remain unclear in the current study because blood cytokine levels and cytometric profiling of whole blood were not measured. Adequate dose of NTM048 to improve the psychological status was unclear because this dose (1 × 10In conclusion, NTM048 did not promote secretion of s-IgA in saliva. However, it did improve the symptom of nasal blockage associated with JCP. post hoc study indicated that the psychological status was improved in the subjects with possible increase in occupation NTM048 ratio in the stool. Future study should analyze the improvement of specific psychological status and the symptom of nasal blockage in a dose-dependent manner.