Effect of Bifidobacterium bifidum G9-1 on the Intestinal Environment and Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS-D)-like Symptoms in Patients with Quiescent Crohn's Disease: A Prospective Pilot Study

• Published in: Journal of clinical medicine Vol. 12; no. 10; p. 3368
• Main Authors: Tomita, Toshihiko, Fukui, Hirokazu, Okugawa, Takuya, Nakanishi, Takashi, Mieno, Masatoshi, Nakai, Keisuke, Eda, Hirotsugu, Kitayama, Yoshitaka, Oshima, Tadayuki, Shinzaki, Shinichiro, Miwa, Hiroto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09.05.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Abdomen; Clinical medicine; Crohns disease; Cytokines; Diarrhea; Digestive system; Feces; Irritable bowel syndrome; Microbiota; Pathophysiology; Probiotics; Proteins; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Japan; anxiety; gut microbiome; inflammation; irritable bowel syndrome; Crohn’s disease; probiotics
• DOI: 10.3390/jcm12103368
• ISSN: 2077-0383

Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D)-like symptoms are distressing for patients with quiescent Crohn's disease (qCD) and worsen their quality of life. In the present study, we assessed the effect of the probiotic G9-1 (BBG9-1) on the intestinal environment and clinical features in patients with qCD. Eleven patients with qCD, who met the Rome III diagnostic criteria for IBS-D, received BBG9-1 (24 mg) orally three times daily for 4 weeks. Indices of the intestinal environment (fecal calprotectin level and gut microbiome) and clinical features (CD/IBS-related symptoms, quality of life and stool irregularities) were evaluated before and after treatment. Treatment with BBG9-1 tended to reduce the IBS severity index in the studied patients ( = 0.07). Among gastrointestinal symptoms, abdominal pain and dyspepsia tended to be improved by the BBG9-1 treatment ( = 0.07 and = 0.07, respectively), and IBD-related QOL showed a significant improvement ( = 0.007). With regard to mental status, the patient anxiety score was significantly lower at the endpoint of BBG9-1 treatment than at the baseline ( = 0.03). Although BBG9-1 treatment did not affect the fecal calprotectin level, it suppressed the serum MCP-1 level significantly and increased the abundance of intestinal in the study patients. The probiotic BBG9-1 is able to improve IBD-related QOL with a reduction of anxiety score in patients with quiescent CD and IBS-D-like symptoms.