Alcoholic Liver Disease and the Gut Microbiome

NCT05007470 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 80

Last updated 2025-01-06

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Background: Significant sex differences exist in regard to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD). To date, no studies have examined the brain-gut-microbiome (BGM) axis (which is the relationship between the gut, brain, and the bacteria within the gut) and sex-differences in AUD and ALD.

Aims: 1) Demonstrate baseline sex differences in the microbiome and metatranscriptome of AUD and ALD and correlate those differences to severity, 2) determine if these baseline sex differences predicts abstinence or ALD related outcomes, and 3) show how altering the microbiome can decrease the severity of AUD and ALD in a sexdependent manner. Hypothesis: Our project is aimed to explore the hypothesis that sex-related differences of the BGM axis in AUD and ALD explains the variation in patient severity and outcome by sex, and that alterations of the BGM axis can decrease the severity of AUD and ALD in a sex-dependent manner.

Methods: A pilot randomized placebo (VSL#3 vs placebo) control trial will be performed in patients with AUD and ALD for 6 months. Questionnaire data, clinical labs, serum, and feces for shotgun metagenomics will be collected at baseline, 3-months, and 6-months.

Anticipated Results: Patients with severe AUD/ALD will have more microbes and microbial genes associated with inflammation. These differences will predict outcomes at 6-months and that changes of this baseline microbiome with VSL#3 will lead to more positive outcomes than placebo, with men having greater benefit from VSL#3 than women.

Implications and Future Studies: The discovery of the mechanisms underlying sex-related differences in AUD/ALD is needed for the development of personalized recommendations for prevention and treatment in men and women

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

VSL #3 112.5 Capsule

VSL#3 is a commercial probiotic mixture consisting of eight bacterial strains: Four strains of Lactobacillus (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus), three strains of Bifidobacterium (Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium infantis), and one strain of Streptococcus (Streptococcus salivarius subspecies thermophilus).

OTHER

Placebo

100 mg sugar

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2022-01-31
Primary Completion
2025-06-30
Completion
2025-09-01

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05007470 on ClinicalTrials.gov