Commentary: the effects of probiotics on barrier function and mucosal pouch microbiota during maintenance treatment for severe pouchitis in patients with ulcerative colitis - authors' reply

摘要

We thank Drs Landy and Hart for commenting on our article. The best evidence for any positive effect of probiotics in pouchitis is in maintenance of remission, following induction of remission with antibiotics, which is why we chose to study permeability to macromolecules and bacteria in pouch biopsies after combined therapy. We found that maintenance treatment with a probiotic mixture may restore the mucosal barrier in patients with chronic pouchitis as a potential mechanism for the prevention of recurrence. It is, however, important to remember that our study was not designed to examine the efficacy of probiotics as maintenance treatment.