A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that having a family dog in the house as your newborn baby is growing up can reduce his or her chances of developing allergies and asthma.
According to The Wall Street Journal, mice who were exposed to dust from a house that had a dog were less likely to develop allergic reactions than those who were exposed to dust from a home that didn't have any animals. The former reportedly experienced a change in the composition of microbes in their gut, exhibiting a larger amount of the bacteria Lactobacillus johnsonii, which researchers determined may help prevent allergic reactions.
"This paper elegantly illustrates how an environmental exposure protects against an allergic response by mediating the gut [bacteria]," John Penders, a molecular epidemiologist who was not involved with the study, said in an interview with Science Magazine. "Studies like this provide new leads."
It is still unclear if these results would transfer from mice to humans, but The Wall Street Journal notes that the next step is to create microbial-based treatments for people to see if these probiotics can prevent the development of asthma and allergies.
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