Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27294502›Full record

Trial reportEuropean journal of applied physiology2016

Effects of Lactobacillus casei Shirota ingestion on common cold infection and herpes virus antibodies in endurance athletes: a placebo-controlled, randomized trial.

Michael Gleeson, Nicolette C Bishop, Lauren Struszczak

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in European journal of applied physiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
35citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

35 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Effects of Probiotics Supplementation on Risk and Severity of Infections in Athletes: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Impact of Probiotics on the Performance of Endurance Athletes: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Pooled it
  5. The effect of probiotics on respiratory tract infection with special emphasis on COVID-19: Systemic review 2010-20.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2021
    Pooled it
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  13. Impact of probioticiScience · 2024
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Michael GleesonSchool of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 3TU, UK. m.gleeson@lboro.ac.uk.
Nicolette C BishopSchool of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 3TU, UK.
Lauren StruszczakSchool of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 3TU, UK.
Loughborough University · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsTo assess evidence of health and immune benefit by consumption of a Lactobacillus casei Shirota probiotic in highly physically active people.

methodsSingle-centre, population-based, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Daily ingestion of probiotic (PRO) or placebo (PLA) for 20 weeks for n = 243 (126 PRO, 117 PLA) university athletes and games players. Subjects completed validated questionnaires on upper respiratory tract infection symptoms (URS) on a daily basis and on physical activity status at weekly intervals during the intervention period. Blood samples were collected before and after 20 weeks of the intervention for determination of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) serostatus and antibody levels.

resultsURS episode incidence was unexpectedly low (mean 0.6 per individual) and was not significantly different on PRO compared with PLA. URS episode duration and severity were also not influenced by PRO. A significant time × group interaction effect was observed for plasma CMV antibody titres in CMV seropositive participants (p < 0.01) with antibody titre falling in the PRO group but remaining unchanged in the PLA group over time. A similar effect was found for plasma EBV antibody titres in EBV seropositive participants (p < 0.01) with antibody titre falling in the PRO group but increasing in the PLA group over time.

conclusionsIn summary, regular ingestion of PRO did not reduce URS episode incidence which might be attributable to the low URS incidence in this study. Regular ingestion of PRO reduced plasma CMV and EBV antibody titres, an effect that can be interpreted as a benefit to overall immune status.

Indexed as

Lacticaseibacillus caseiAdultAntibodies, ViralCommon ColdDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHerpesvirus 1, CercopithecineHumansMalePhysical EndurancePlacebo EffectProbioticsRespiratory Tract InfectionsSportsTreatment OutcomeUnited KingdomAntibodies, ViralCommon coldExercise trainingHerpesvirusProbiotic

Identifiers

PMID27294502
PMCPMC4943997
OpenAlexW2441014991

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.