Electrolyte Solution with Lactiva and Lysomin Helps Children Recover Faster from Diarrhea

08/02/07 Adding Lactiva and Lysomin to standard electrolyte solution helped children recover a day and a half faster than standard electrolyte solution alone, according to a recent study published in the February issue of Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

The double-blind study followed 140 children who were suffering from diarrhea and admitted to the hospital. The results found that children who took the electrolyte solution containing Lactiva and Lysomin recovered a day and a half faster than children taking electrolyte solution alone (5.21 days vs. 3.67 days). In addition children receiving Lactiva and Lysomin were more likely to recover from their diarrhea and were less likely to relapse into another episode of diarrhea.

Lactiva and Lysomin are two proteins found naturally in breast milk. Research has demonstrated that breast milk is the best form of nutrition for children and that proteins found in breast milk play many important roles in child health and wellness including establishment of a healthy digestive system.

"Oral rehydration therapy including electrolyte solution is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for dehydration due to diarrhea," said Ron Kleinman, MD, Chief of Pediatrics and Pediatric Gastroenterology, MassGeneral Hospital for Children. "The idea of improving oral electrolyte therapy with the addition of proteins naturally found in breast milk is a novel and important concept and is potentially a major advancement in this therapy, which impacts the health of children globally."

In the United States there are more than 1.5 million hospital visits for childhood diarrhea. Globally, childhood diarrhea is the second leading killer of children under the age of 5, claiming 2 million lives annually.

"Diarrheal illnesses are a major reason for children seeing their physician and a major cause of emergency room visits," said Robert Wittler, MD, Professor, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Kansas University School of Medicine at Wichita. "Oral rehydration is a safe and effective way to treat most diarrheal illnesses, and this study confirms the advantages of adding proteins contained in breast milk to oral rehydration solution. This is an important study as decreasing the duration of diarrhea lessens the likelihood of children becoming significantly dehydrated and allows children to return to daycare and school quicker and their parents who work outside the home can return to work sooner."