Quigley Eamonn M M
Department of Medicine, Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Hosp Pract (1995). 2010 Nov;38(4):122-9. doi: 10.3810/hp.2010.11.349.
A new era in medical science has dawned with the realization of the critical role of the "forgotten organ," the enteric flora, in health and disease. Central to this beneficial interaction between the flora and humans is the manner in which the bacteria contained within the gut "talk" to the immune system and, in particular, the immune system that is widespread within the gut itself, the gut- (or mucosa-) associated lymphoid tissue (GALT or MALT). Into this landscape comes a new player: the probiotic. While many products have masqueraded as probiotics, only those that truly and reproducibly contain live organisms and have been shown, in high-quality human studies, to confer a health benefit can actually claim this title. Several human disease states have benefited from the use of probiotics, most notably diarrheal illnesses, some inflammatory bowel diseases, and certain infectious disorders. Irritable bowel syndrome can now be added to this list. Although this area holds much promise, more high-quality trials of probiotics in digestive disorders, as well as laboratory investigations of their mechanisms of action, are required.
随着人们认识到被“遗忘的器官”——肠道菌群在健康与疾病中所起的关键作用，医学科学迎来了一个新时代。菌群与人类之间这种有益相互作用的核心在于肠道内所含细菌与免疫系统“对话”的方式，尤其是广泛存在于肠道自身的免疫系统，即肠道（或黏膜）相关淋巴组织（GALT或MALT）。在这一领域出现了一个新成员：益生菌。虽然许多产品都伪装成益生菌，但只有那些真正含有活生物体且经高质量人体研究证明能带来健康益处的产品才能名副其实。使用益生菌已使几种人类疾病状态受益，最显著的是腹泻性疾病、一些炎症性肠病和某些感染性疾病。肠易激综合征现在也可列入此列。尽管这一领域前景广阔，但仍需要更多关于益生菌在消化系统疾病中的高质量试验以及对其作用机制的实验室研究。
