Research paper
Effect of Probiotics (Saccharomyces boulardii) on Microbial Translocation and Inflammation in HIV-Treated Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Study answer
What this study found
Saccharomyces boulardii improved inflammatory and microbial translocation markers in virologically suppressed HIV patients. Compared with placebo, the probiotic group showed decreases in LBP and IL-6, and some effects persisted after treatment discontinuation at Week 24 in intention-to-treat analysis. It did not significantly change CD4+/CD8+ cell counts or broader immune parameters, and no adverse events were associated with probiotic use. The authors concluded that the intervention was well tolerated but that longer treatment and larger studies are needed to define optimal dosing and…
- Study & population
- Single-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial at Hospital Universitari del Mar in Barcelona, Spain.
- Intervention
- Saccharomyces boulardii was given orally as 2 capsules 3 times daily for 12 weeks, with 6 × 10^7 living bacteria per capsule.
- Key limitation
- This was a small single-center pilot study with 22 participants per arm, limiting precision and generalizability.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Background:Microbial translocation has been associated with an increase in immune activation and inflammation in HIV infection despite effective highly active antiretroviral therapy. It has been shown that some probiotics have a beneficial effect by …