Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31527716›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2019

Lactulose drives a reversible reduction and qualitative modulation of the faecal microbiota diversity in healthy dogs.

Marisa da Fonseca Ferreira, Silke Salavati Schmitz, Jeffrey Joseph Schoenebeck, Dylan Neil Clements, Susan Mary Campbell, Donna Elaine Gaylor, Richard J Mellanby, Adam George Gow, Mazdak Salavati

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Microbial Approaches to Treat and Prevent Hepatic Encephalopathy.Gastroenterology clinics of North America · 2025
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Marisa da Fonseca FerreiraThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom. marisa.ferreira@ed.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8123-4612
Silke Salavati SchmitzThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom.
Jeffrey Joseph SchoenebeckThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4964-2138
Dylan Neil ClementsThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom.
Susan Mary CampbellThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom.
Donna Elaine GaylorThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom.
Richard J MellanbyThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom.
Adam George GowThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom.
Mazdak SalavatiThe Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7349-2451
Roslin Institute · GB

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/J004235/1Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/J004243/1Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/P013732/1Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/P013740/1Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/P013759/1Medical Research Council MR/K001744/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Hepatic encephalopathy is a frequent and debilitating complication of liver disorders. Lactulose is an established and reasonably effective treatment, yet with incompletely understood mechanisms of action. The aims of this study were to examine how the faecal microbiota composition changed before, during and after lactulose treatment in a large animal model. Healthy, privately owned dogs (n = 18) completed a prospective cohort study. Faecal samples were collected weekly, while the subjects were either on their usual diet (week 1), or a standardised diet (weeks 2-9), with added oral lactulose in weeks 6-7. DNA extraction and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were undertaken. Faecal samples from week 7 had a significantly lower microbiota richness/diversity, based on observed operational taxonomic units, Shannon/Chao1 indexes and Pielou's Evenness. Beta diversity based on UniFrac distances was significantly different in week 7 compared to weeks 1, 5 and 9. At the phylum level, week 7 was associated with a significant increase of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, and a decrease of Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria, when compared to weeks 5 and 9. In summary, we have shown that lactulose induces a reversible qualitative and quantitative change of the faecal microbiota, which may explain its clinical efficacy in the management of hepatic encephalopathy.

Indexed as

AnimalsBacteriaBiodiversityDNA, BacterialDogsDysbiosisFecesFemaleGastrointestinal AgentsGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHepatic EncephalopathyHigh-Throughput Nucleotide SequencingLactuloseMaleProspective StudiesRNA, Ribosomal, 16SDNA, BacterialGastrointestinal AgentsLactuloseRNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Identifiers

PMID31527716
PMCPMC6746952
OpenAlexW2972399082

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.