Awards for the PREGRALL study

At the European Allergy Congress (EAACI), held from 31 May to 3 June in Valencia (Spain), Marie Bodinier from the Allergy team was awarded the prize for an outstanding oral presentation on the results of the PREGRALL clinical trial (NCT03183440, Cabridain et al., 2019), which aims to prevent childhood allergy through a maternal nutritional strategy. This study, coordinated by Nantes University Hospital and co-directed by Professor S. Barbarot and researcher Marie Bodinier, is a multicentre study in association with Rennes, Tours and Toulouse University Hospital. The main results presented concerned both the impact of prebiotic supplementation on the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) at one year and certain mechanisms associated with the immune system and microbiota.

For these same results, Marie Bodinier was also awarded the prize for best poster at the Francophone d'Allergologie (CFA) congress in Paris in April 2024.

These are great rewards for our PREGRALL clinical study and great moments of exchange during these congresses!

The results of the PREGRALL study show that prebiotic supplementation was unable to protect against AD or reduce its severity (article in preparation). A bio-collection of samples (stool, breast milk, blood) was generated during the protocol on 126 mother-child dyads from the PREGRALL cohort by the Nantes Clinical Investigation Centre (CIC 1413 FEA) and stored at the Nantes Biological Resources Centre (CRB) in order to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the development of AD in children at 1 year of age, as well as the biological impact of prebiotic intervention in mothers and their children (ANR CIMMAP project). As preliminary results, we observed that the intake of prebiotics by mothers during pregnancy modulates the intestinal microbiota, immunity and composition of breast milk in the mothers, and these effects are transmitted to their children at the beginning of life. The modulation of biological parameters in mothers and their children by prebiotic intervention encourages us to think that this strategy could have a longer-term effect on the prevention of atopic diseases.