Therapeutic Role of Probiotics for the Treatment of Dyspepsia: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Background: Dyspepsia is a common condition with a high prevalence in the general population. Patients in whom traditional diagnostic procedures can detect no identifiable explanation for the symptoms are diagnosed as being affected by functional dyspepsia (FD). To date, no etiological therapy for FD is available, and the current management includes general measures, acid-suppressive drugs, prokinetic agents, fundus-relaxing drugs, antidepressants, and psychological interventions. Recent evidence suggests that microbiota imbalance is involved in the development of FD. As a consequence, the modulation of microbiota through the use of probiotics could represent an effective therapeutic strategy. Moreover, Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is a frequent cause of dyspepsia, and patients diagnosed with HP-associated dyspepsia are treated with HP eradication. In this regard, probiotics supplementation may also be helpful for HP infection to increase the eradication success rate as well as to reduce gastrointestinal adverse events caused by antibiotics.

Purpose: This review of the literature aims to summarize and discuss the current evidence on the use of probiotics in the treatment of dyspepsia and as a supplement to HP eradication therapy.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Saccharomyces boulardii; Bifidobacterium; functional dyspepsia; lactobacillus; probiotic; supplementation.

FIGURE 1

Putative pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of functional dyspepsia.