Probiotics: future directions

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Abstract
Clinical studies have shown that certain pro-biotics may be useful in treating a variety of diarrheal disor-ders, including rotavirus diarrhea, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, Clostridium difficilediarrhea, and traveler's diarrhea. New data suggest that probiotics might be useful in controlling inflamma-tory diseases, treating and preventing allergic diseases, prevent-ing cancer, and stimulating the immune system, which may reduce the incidence of respiratory disease. Different modes of administering probiotics are currently being investigated, which may ultimately lead to the widespread use of probiotics in func-tional foods. It is important that such practices be directed by carefully controlled clinical studies published in peer-reviewed journals.