Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35654766›Full record

Trial reportTranslational psychiatry2022

Clinical, gut microbial and neural effects of a probiotic add-on therapy in depressed patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Anna-Chiara Schaub, Else Schneider, Jorge F Vazquez-Castellanos, Nina Schweinfurth, Cedric Kettelhack, Jessica P K Doll, Gulnara Yamanbaeva, Laura Mählmann, Serge Brand, Christoph Beglinger and 4 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Translational psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02957591 (The Effect of Probiotic Supplementation on the Efficacy of Antidepressant Treatment in Depression), which is not on this map. Cited by 128 papers, 20 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
128citing papers in PubMed, 20 pooled it
17.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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.

NCT02957591 nacompletednot on this map

The Effect of Probiotic Supplementation on the Efficacy of Antidepressant Treatment in Depression

TypeinterventionalSponsorPsychiatric Hospital of the University of BaselRan2017 to 2020Enrolled60ConditionsSevere DepressionArmsVivomixx®, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

128 citing papers in PubMed, 20 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 220 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. Nutraceuticals in Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
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  19. Probiotics for the treatment of depression and its comorbidities: A systemic review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023
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68 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

14 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.

Anna-Chiara Schaub *University of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Else Schneider *University of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Jorge F Vazquez-Castellanos *Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Nina SchweinfurthUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Cedric KettelhackUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Jessica P K DollUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Gulnara YamanbaevaUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Laura MählmannUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Serge BrandUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Christoph BeglingerDepartment of Research, St. Clara Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
Stefan BorgwardtUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
Jeroen RaesDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
André SchmidtUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland. andre.schmidt@unibas.ch.ORCID 0000-0001-6055-8397
Undine E LangUniversity of Basel, Department of Psychiatry (UPK), Basel, Switzerland.
University of Basel · CHRega Institute for Medical Research · BESt. Claraspital · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A promising new treatment approach for major depressive disorder (MDD) targets the microbiota-gut-brain (MGB) axis, which is linked to physiological and behavioral functions affected in MDD. This is the first randomized controlled trial to determine whether short-term, high-dose probiotic supplementation reduces depressive symptoms along with gut microbial and neural changes in depressed patients. Patients with current depressive episodes took either a multi-strain probiotic supplement or placebo over 31 days additionally to treatment-as-usual. Assessments took place before, immediately after and again four weeks after the intervention. The Hamilton Depression Rating Sale (HAM-D) was assessed as primary outcome. Quantitative microbiome profiling and neuroimaging was used to detect changes along the MGB axis. In the sample that completed the intervention (probiotics N = 21, placebo N = 26), HAM-D scores decreased over time and interactions between time and group indicated a stronger decrease in the probiotics relative to the placebo group. Probiotics maintained microbial diversity and increased the abundance of the genus Lactobacillus, indicating the effectivity of the probiotics to increase specific taxa. The increase of the Lactobacillus was associated with decreased depressive symptoms in the probiotics group. Finally, putamen activation in response to neutral faces was significantly decreased after the probiotic intervention. Our data imply that an add-on probiotic treatment ameliorates depressive symptoms (HAM-D) along with changes in the gut microbiota and brain, which highlights the role of the MGB axis in MDD and emphasizes the potential of microbiota-related treatment approaches as accessible, pragmatic, and non-stigmatizing therapies in MDD. Trial Registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov , identifier: NCT02957591.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MicrobiomeMajor Depressive DisorderProbioticsDietary SupplementsHumans

Identifiers

PMID35654766
PMCPMC9163095
OpenAlexW4281776018

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.