Babies that are fed so called "good" bacteria while they are being weaned may be less likely to develop the allergy-related skin condition eczema.

Previous research has found that children with food allergies are more likely to have a "disturbed balance between beneficial and potentially harmful bacteria in the large intestine.

A healthy balance of gut microorganisms is essential for the normal development of the immune system. The establishment of such a balance in infancy is thought to nudge the immune system away from allergic reactions to harmless substances in the environment.

In the current investigation, the team of researchers evaluated 21 breast-fed infants who were previously diagnosed with eczema and therefore had a heightened risk of allergies.

Infants were weaned to whey formula that either did or did not contain good bacteria, and stool samples were tested for the presence of good and bad bacteria. Those who did not get the good bacteria-laden formula were more likely to have higher concentrations of "bad" bacteria. What's more, the presence of these bad bacteria appeared to be related to immune system responses and the extent of eczema.

Gut July 2002;51:51-55