Psychobiotics Regulate the Anxiety Symptoms in Carriers of Allele A of IL-1ß Gene: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Probiotic oral intake, via modulation of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, can impact brain activity, mood, and behavior; therefore, it may be beneficial against psychological distress and anxiety disorders. Inflammatory cytokines can influence the onset and progression of several neurodegenerative mood disorders, and the IL-1ß rs16944 SNP is related to high cytokine levels and potentially affects mood disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the combined effect of IL-1ß polymorphism and probiotic administration in mood disorder phenotypes in the Italian population. METHODS: 150 subjects were randomized into two different groups, probiotic oral suspension group (POSG) and placebo control group (PCG), and received the relative treatment for 12 weeks. Psychological profile assessment by Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), and Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL90R) was administered to all volunteers. Genotyping was performed on DNA extracted from salivary samples. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of intervention, a significant reduction of HAM-A total score was detected in the POSG (p < 0.01), compared to the PCG. Furthermore, IL-1ß carriers have moderate risk to develop anxiety (OR = 5.90), and in POSG IL-1ß carriers, we observed a reduction of HAM-A score (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of probiotics mitigates anxiety symptoms, especially in healthy adults with the minor A allele of rs16944 as a risk factor. Our results encourage the use of probiotics in anxiety disorders and suggest genetic association studies for psychobiotic-personalized therapy.

FTO rs9939609 influence on adipose tissue localization in the Italian population.

OBJECTIVE: Among the genes involved in obesity, the Fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) is certainly one of the most known and the relation between FTO rs9939609 and BMI is highly discussed; nevertheless, data about its influence on body composition are limited. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We carried out a study on a sample of 1066 Italian subjects, whose body composition and FTO rs9939609 were analyzed. RESULTS: We found significant relations between FTO with arm (p=0.01), abdomen (p=0.00), and trunk circumferences (p=0.00), BMI (p=0.01), FM% (p=0.00), and android FM% (p=0.01), whereas no relations were found between FTO and both gynoid fat and lean mass. CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, the relation between FTO and BMI is confirmed and is related specifically with android FM%. These results indicated that FTO rs9939609 may be a genetic etiological factor for obesity. Indeed, the specificity for the android FM% would indicate FTO as an etiological factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Role of phase angle in the evaluation of effect of an immuno-enhanced formula in post-surgical cancer patients: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Neoplastic disease is frequently associated with poor nutritional status or severe malnutrition. Diet and nutritional intervention are becoming increasingly important for prognosis and quality of life in cancer patients. Accessible and repeatable tools for assessing nutritional status with body composition techniques seems to be fundamental. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of immunonutrition on body composition parameters, inflammatory response and nutritional status in patients at stage III of head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In our work, 50 malnourished subjects with HNSCC staging III were recruited and treated with oral diet (OD) or enteral nutrition (EN). Patient under EN followed, for the first three days, enteral standard nutrition (ESN) and then enteral immunonutrition (EIN). Nutrition state was evaluated on days 0, 3, and 8 through body composition and biochemical analyses. RESULTS: After 8 days, the EIN treatment showed a significant improvement in phase angle, pre-albumin, retinol binding protein and transferrin compared to the OD treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that immunonutrition treatment improves the nutritional status of neoplastic patients, supporting chemotherapy. The phase angle is not only a predictor of cancer survival, but has also proved to be useful in the surveillance of nutritional status improvement as well as biochemical indices.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, key role of MIG1 gene in metabolic switching: putative fermentation/oxidation.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae can utilize a wide range of carbon sources; however, in the presence of glucose the use of alternate carbon sources would be repressed. Several genes involved in the metabolic pathways exert these effects. Among them, the zinc finger protein, Mig1 (multicopy inhibitor of GAL gene expression) plays important roles in glucose repression of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To investigate whether the alleviation of glucose effect would result in a switch to oxidative production pathway, MIG1 were disrupted in a haploid laboratory strain (2805) of S. cerevisiae. The impact of this disruption was studied under fully aerobic conditions when glucose was the sole carbon source. Our results showed that glucose repression was partly alleviated; i.e., ethanol, as a significant fermentation marker, and acetate productions were respectively decreased by 14.13% and 43.71% compared to the wild type. In ΔMIG1 strain, the metabolic shifting on the aerobic pathway and a significant increase in pyruvate and glycerol production suggested it as an optimally productive industrial yeast strain. However, further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Efficacy and safety of very-low-calorie ketogenic diet: a double blind randomized crossover study.

OBJECTIVE: To verify safety respect to weight loss, cardiometabolic diseases of short-term Very low-calorie ketogenic diets (VLCKDs, <800 kcal day-1). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Randomized cross-over trial with placebo. The study had no. 2 dietary treatment (DT), conducted in two arms: (1) VLCKD1 in which 50% of protein intake is replaced with synthetic amino acids; (2) VLCKD2 with placebo. The VLCKDs (<800 kcal day-1) were different in term of protein content and quality each arm lasted three weeks (wks). Between the two arms a 3-wks washout period was performed to avoid additive effects on DT to follow. At the baseline, at start and end of each arm, all the subjects were evaluated for their health and nutritional status, by anthropometric analysis, body composition (Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), Bioimpedentiometry, biochemical evaluation, and Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ (PPAR) γ expression by transcriptomic analysis. RESULTS: After VLCKD1 were reduced: Body Mass Index (BMI) (Δ%=-11.1%, p=0.00), Total Body Water (TBW) (p<0.05); Android Fat Percentage (AFP) (Δ%=-1.8%, p=0.02); Android Fat Mass (AFM) (Δ%=-12.7%, p=0.00); Gynoid Fat Mass (GFM) (Δ%=-6.3%, p=0.01); Intermuscular Adipose Tissue (IMAT) (Δ%= -11.1%, p=0.00); Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Re-sistance (HOMA-IR) (Δ%=-62.1%, p=0.01). After VLCKD1 a significant increase of uricemia, cre-atinine and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (respectively Δ%=35%, p=0.01; Δ%=5.9%, p=0.02; Δ%=25.5%, p=0.03). After VLCKD2 were reduced: BMI (Δ%=-11.2%, p=0.00); AFM (Δ%=-14.3%, p=0.00); GFM (Δ%=-6.3%, p=0.00); Appendicular Skeletal Muscle Mass Index (ASMMI) (Δ%=-17.5%, p=0.00); HOMA-IR (Δ%=-59,4%, p=0.02). After VLCKD2, uricemia (Δ%=63.1%, p=0.03), and Vitamin D levels (Δ%=25.7%, p=0.02) were increased. No significant changes of car-diovascular disease (CVD) indexes were observed after DTs. No significant changes of PPARγ lev-el in any DTs. CONCLUSIONS: 21-days VLCKDs not impair nutritional state; not cause negative changes in global measurements of nutritional state including sarcopenia, bone mineral content, hepatic, renal and lipid profile.