ISSAC (United States)

Introduction: Immunomodulator glutamine and probiotic Lactobacillus at certain doses have beneficial effects by modulation of the immune system and may assist in the integrity of therespiratory system. However, studies about the effects of glutamine or Lactobacillus pool on the prevention and control of asthma in children are still scarce. The aim of study was to evaluate the effect of the use of glutamine and Lactobacillus pool on the attenuation of clinical asthma symptoms in children. Methods: Longitudinal study, 45 children with medical diagnosis of asthma distributed in three groups: control group (C), glutamine group (G), Lactobacillus group (L). Group G was supplemented with L-glutamine powder (0.3 g/kg/day). Group L used a pool of Lactoba- cillus (Lactobacillus casei, paracasei, rhamnosus, acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis) (2 g/day). Group C received no glutamine or Lactobacillus pool. Clinical characteristics and symptoms of respiratory diseases were assessed by study-specific anamnesis and ISSAC Questionnaire (to obtain diagnostic scores and asthma symptoms) for 4 months. To test for differences between groups, the ANOVA test with Tukey post-hoc test was used. It was considered significant p <0.05. Results: Initial ISSAC score was (C=8.67±1.77, L=7.80±1.52 and G=8.00 ± 1.46, p=0.31). At the first follow-up, the ISSAC score indicated that group G had improvement in the clinical characteristics of asthma (C=6.47±2.29, L = 5.07±2.28, G = 4.00±1.73, p <0.05), as also occurred in the following months until the last follow-up (C=5.93±2.28, L=5.13±2.13, G=4.00±1.96, p<0.05). After supplementation, group G presented lower mean duration of asthma attack (p=0.01), lower number of asthma attack (p<0.05), lower prevalence of typical asthma symptoms, as cough and wheezing (p<0.05). Conclusion: Glutamine supplementation attenuated the typical asthma symptoms, while the use of Lactobacillus pool did not attenuate the symptoms. Glutamine may be a new strategy for prevention and control of asthma in children.