1.
Effects of Probiotic NVP-1704 on Mental Health and Sleep in Healthy Adults: An 8-Week Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
Lee, HJ, Hong, JK, Kim, JK, Kim, DH, Jang, SW, Han, SW, Yoon, IY
Nutrients. 2021;13(8)
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Dietary changes directly alter the gut microbiome composition. A diversified gut microbiome may have therapeutic implications for mental health, and specific strains of probiotics have shown the potential to treat depression and anxiety. Several preclinical trials have found the probiotic mixture NVP-1704 to alleviate depression and anxiety in mice through modulating the gut-brain-microbiome axis. The aim of this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study was to examine the efficacy and safety of NVP-1704 for the management of depression, anxiety and insomnia in healthy adults. A total of 156 healthy adults with subclinical depression, anxiety and insomnia were randomised to receive either NVP-1704 or placebo for eight weeks. Participants completed various questionnaires and biomarkers of stress and inflammation were assessed. After eight weeks, this study found that NVP-1704 to be a safe and well-tolerated probiotic with beneficial effects on depression, sleep quality, inflammation and gut microbiome composition in healthy adults. Based on this study, the authors conclude the therapeutic effects of NVP-1704 previously found in preclinical mice trials may now be translated to clinical trials. The authors suggest large, highly controlled, longitudinal human studies be conducted in the future to further confirm the benefits of probiotics on mental health and sleep.
Abstract
The human gut microbiome is closely linked to mental health and sleep. We aimed to verify the efficacy and safety of probiotic NVP-1704, a mixture of Lactobacillus reuteri NK33 and Bifidobacterium adolescentis NK98, in improving stress, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances, along with the measurement of some blood biomarkers. A total of 156 healthy adults with subclinical symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia were retrospectively registered and randomly assigned to receive either NVP-1704 (n = 78) or a placebo (n = 78) for eight weeks. Participants completed the Stress Response Inventory, Beck's Depression and Anxiety Inventory, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, and Insomnia Severity Index at baseline, at four and eight weeks of treatment. Pre- and post-treatment blood tests for biomarkers were conducted. After intervention, gut microbiota composition was quantified by pyrosequencing the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. The NVP-1704 group had a more significant reduction in depressive symptoms at four and eight weeks of treatment, and anxiety symptoms at four weeks compared to the placebo group. Those receiving NVP-1704 also experienced an improvement in sleep quality. NVP-1704 treatment led to a decrease in serum interleukin-6 levels. Furthermore, NVP-1704 increased Bifidobacteriaceae and Lactobacillacea, whereas it decreased Enterobacteriaceae in the gut microbiota composition. Our findings suggest that probiotic NVP-1704 could be beneficial for mental health and sleep.
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Flavonoid-Rich Orange Juice Intake and Altered Gut Microbiome in Young Adults with Depressive Symptom: A Randomized Controlled Study.
Park, M, Choi, J, Lee, HJ
Nutrients. 2020;12(6)
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Depression is a common brain disorder, which may be negatively affected by poor dietary intake. Naturally occurring compounds in fruits, vegetables, tea and cocoa called flavonoids, reportedly improve brain function and may help to lower risk of depression. Possible reasons for this are their influence on the gut microbiota, which can influence the brain. This randomised control trial of 40 individuals with depression aimed to determine the influence of flavonoid rich orange juice on the gut microbiome and symptoms of depression over 8 weeks. The results showed a marginal increase in a key blood indicator associated with symptoms of depression in the flavonoid supplemented group. Symptoms of depression were also decreased in the flavonoid treatment group. Interestingly gut microbiota diversity was higher before treatment, but the abundance of key gut microbiota species were influenced by flavonoid treatment. Biomarkers for depression were also associated with the abundance of gut microbiota. It was concluded that the consequences of high microbial diversity in individuals with depression is not fully understood. However, treatment with flavonoids may alter the gut microbiome and improve symptoms of depression. This study could be used by healthcare practitioners to understand the role of the gut microbiota in depression and recommend dietary changes to include high amounts of flavonoids.
Abstract
Depression is not just a general mental health problem but a serious medical illness that can worsen without treatment. The gut microbiome plays a major role in the two-way communication system between the intestines and brain. The current study examined the effects of flavonoids on depression by observing the changes in the gut microbiome and depressive symptoms of young participants consuming flavonoid-rich orange juice. The depressive symptom was assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), a psychiatric screening tool used to detect preexisting mental disorders. The study population was randomly divided into two groups: the flavonoid-rich orange juice (FR) and an equicaloric flavonoid-low orange cordial (FL) group. For 8 weeks, participants consumed FR (serving a daily 380 mL, 600 ± 5.4 mg flavonoids) or FL (serving a daily 380 mL, 108 ± 2.6 mg flavonoids). In total, 80 fecal samples from 40 participants (mean age, 21.83 years) were sequenced. Regarding depression, we observed positive correlations between brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the Lachnospiraceae family (Lachnospiraceae_uc and Murimonas) before flavonoid orange juice treatment. Most notably, the abundance of the Lachnospiraceae family (Lachnospiraceae_uc, Eubacterium_g4, Roseburia_uc, Coprococcus_g2_uc, Agathobacter_uc) increased after FR treatment compared to that after FL treatment. We also validated the presence of unclassified Lachnospiraceae through sensitive real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction using stool samples from participants before and after flavonoid treatment. Our results provide novel interventional evidence that alteration in the microbiome due to flavonoid treatment is related to a potential improvement in depression in young adults.
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The Effect of a Multidisciplinary Lifestyle Intervention on Obesity Status, Body Composition, Physical Fitness, and Cardiometabolic Risk Markers in Children and Adolescents with Obesity.
Seo, YG, Lim, H, Kim, Y, Ju, YS, Lee, HJ, Jang, HB, Park, SI, Park, KH
Nutrients. 2019;11(1)
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Children and adolescents with obesity are at a high risk of being obese in adulthood. The aim of this study was to develop a multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention program targeted at children and adolescents with moderate to severe obesity. The study is based on the Intervention for Childhood and Adolescents Obesity via Activity and Nutrition (ICAAN) – quasi-experimental intervention trial - which recruited 103 participants aged between 6 and sixteen years (63 were boys and 40 girls). The study was based on 2 active treatment groups (usual care group vs exercise group) receiving a 16-week intervention program. Results indicate that children and adolescents with obesity can achieve positive effects on body composition, physical fitness, and cardiometabolic markers, particularly with the exercise intervention. Authors conclude that the moderate-intensity multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention program they developed, can be sustained in the real-world setting and it is applicable to both moderate and severe obesity.
Abstract
This study aimed to develop a multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention program targeted at children and adolescents with moderate to severe obesity, and assess the additional effects of exercise intervention when compared to usual care. Overall, the 103 enrolled participants were ≥85th percentile of age and sex-specific body mass index (BMI). Participants were divided into groups that received 16 weeks of either usual care or exercise intervention. The BMI z-score of the overall completers decreased by about 0.05 after the 16-week intervention (p = 0.02). After the intervention, only the exercise group had a significantly lower BMI z-score than the baseline score by about 0.1 (p = 0.03), but no significant group by time interaction effects were observed. At the 16-week follow-up, significant group by time interaction effects were observed in percentage body fat (%BF) (β = -1.52, 95%CI = -2.58⁻-0.45), lean body mass (LM) (β = 1.20, 95%CI = 0.12⁻2.29), diastolic blood pressure (β = -5.24, 95%CI = -9.66⁻-0.83), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (β = -1.67, 95%CI = -2.77⁻-1.01), and wall sit test score (β = 50.74, 95%CI = 32.30⁻69.18). We developed a moderate-intensity intervention program that can be sustained in the real-world setting and is practically applicable to both moderate and severe obesity. After interventions, the exercise group had lower %BF and cardiometabolic risk markers, and higher LM and leg muscle strength compared to the usual care group.