Synbiotics, Fiber May Help Treat Liver-related Brain Dysfunction

Supplementation with synbiotics or fermentable fiber may help manage minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE, brain dysfunction directly due to liver dysfunction) in patients with cirrhosis, according to a newly published study in the May issue of Hepatology (39, 5:1441-9, 2004) (www.hepatology.org).

Researchers from Beijing Youan Hospital and Capital University of Medical Sciences in Beijing assigned 55 subjects with MHE to randomly receive either a synbiotic preparation (20 subjects), fermentable fiber (20 subjects) or placebo (15 subjects) for 30 days. After 30 days of supplementation, synbiotic treatment significantly increased the fecal content of non-urease-producing Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria, which in turn, was associated with a significant reduction in blood ammonia levels and a reversal of MHE in half the subjects. Researchers also noted supplementation with fermentable fiber was beneficial in a substantial proportion of the subjects.