prebiotic supplementation modulates serum immunoglobulin e levels and improves total scoring atopic dermatitis score in children with atopic dermatitis: a randomized double blind controlled trial

b ac k gro und : atopic dermatitis (ad) is a prevalent chronic disease in children aging from 6 months to 12 years old. recent studies have shown a positive effect of prebiotics in the prevention and treatment of ad. the mechanism of this effect has not been clearly established. the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementation of prebiotic on serum immunoglobulin e (ige) levels and total scoring ad (scorad) score in 7-24 months old children with ad. m ethods : a total of 70 children with ad in a double-blind controlled clinical trial were randomly divided into two groups. for 3 months, the treated group received prebiotic (inulin + fructooligosaccharide), and the control group received placebo (dextrin powder). at the beginning and at the  end  of  the  intervention,  the  scorad  test  questionnaire  was completed for all children by a physician and serum levels of ige were determined. the collected data were analyzed by spss ver. 18 software, using   independent   and   paired   t-tests   and   regression   analysis.   p < 0.050 was considered statistically significant. results :  the  total  scorad  score  and  serum  ige  levels  before intervention were similar in the treated and control groups, and no correlation was found between these variables. the intervention resulted in a significant improvement in the total scorad score in the treatment group  compared  to  control  group  (p  <  0.001).  moreover,  prebiotic supplementation resulted in significant decrease in serum ige levels in the treated compared to control group (p < 0.001). a significant positive correlation was found between total scorad score and serum ige levels in the intervention group (r2 = 0.20; p < 0.001). conclusion : prebiotic supplementation may have beneficial effects on serum ige, which may improve scorad. our findings suggest prebiotic consumption as an adjuvant treatment of dermatitis.