Welcome to the Harvard Medical School
The Health Impact of Active Cultures: Probiotics
There is a long history of probiotics
being used in various cultures for health promotion and
therapeutic purposes. During the past decade a quickly
growing body of evidence suggests that these “good”
bacteria can be used in the diet as medicinal therapy
and have beneficial effects on mucosal barrier dysfunctions,
including diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease,
and allergy. Even though the majority of published
data involve the use of probiotics to treat and prevent
gastrointestinal (GI) infections, the potential functions
of these microorganisms may extend far beyond what
was originally conceptualized. While probiotics have
been used in newborns and infants to restore and
maintain the integrity of the GI system, the medical
community continues to investigate the long-term
effects of such interventions on infant gut microflora.
Below are links to each of the presentations given at the live dinner symposium held in Washington D.C. on October 9, 2005. Each of the links will open the presentation in a new window. System Requirements: You will need Macromedia's Flash player to view these presentations.
Probiotics and Pediatrics
W. Allan Walker, M.D.
Division of Nutrition, Harvard Medical SchoolProbiotics: Overview and Rationale: Use in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Athos Bousvaros, M.D., M.P.H.
Boston Children's HospitalProbiotics and Day Care Center Disease Prevention
Jonathan Markowitz, M.D., MSCE
Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaProbiotics: Applications in Combating Children's Diarrhea
Cornelius Van Niel, M.D.
Sea Mar Community Health Centers, Seattle, WAProbiotics and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Athos Bousvaros, M.D., M.P.H.
Boston Children's Hospital
Program made possible by an unrestricted educational grant provided by The Dannon Company, Inc. and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd.