Bifidobacterium bifidum MIMBb75 is one of a few probiotic strains that have been shown to be effective in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and its symptoms. Non-viable strains might have advantages over viable bacteria for product stability and standardisation, as well as for tolerability because safety concerns have been raised for specific patient groups who are susceptible to infection..
..Patients were screened between April 15, 2016, and Feb 3, 2017, and 443 patients were allocated to the placebo group (n=222) or the B bifidum HI-MIMBb75 group (n=221). The composite primary endpoint was reached by 74 (34%) of 221 patients in the B bifidum HI-MIMBb75 group compared with 43 (19%) of 222 in the placebo group (risk ratio 1·7, 95% CI 1·3–2·4; p=0·0007). No serious adverse events occurred in the B bifidum HI-MIMBb75 group; seven adverse events suspected to be related to the study product were reported in the B bifidum HI-MIMBb75 group as were eight in the placebo group. No deaths were reported in this study. The most common reported adverse event with a suspected relationship to the study product was abdominal pain, which was reported in two (<1%) patients in the B bifidum HI-MIMBb75 group and one (<1%) in the placebo group. Tolerability was rated as very good or good by 200 (91%) patients in the B bifidum HI-MIMBb75 group compared with 191 (86%) in the placebo group.
Interpretation
This study shows that B bifidum HI-MIMBb75 substantially alleviates IBS and its symptoms in a real-life setting. These results indicate that specific beneficial bacterial effects are mediated independently of cell viability.
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