Trial reportBMC pediatrics2024
The effect of synbiotics in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy and the parental burden of caregivers: a single-arm pretest-posttest trial.
Trial report in BMC pediatrics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Probiotics in epilepsy treatment: a meta-analysis of efficacy and safety.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- From clinical practice to mechanistic insights in ketogenic diets for epilepsy.The Lancet. Neurology · 2026Review
- Exploratory Dietary Approaches for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy Beyond Standard Ketogenic Diet and Fish Oil: A Systematic Review of Preliminary Clinical Evidence.Neurology international · 2026Review
- Aging, the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and late-life epilepsy: a hypothesis-driven review.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Review
- Harnessing the microbiota-gut-brain axis to prevent and treat pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders: translational insights and strategies.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Review
- Intestinal microbiome alterations in pediatric epilepsy: Implications for seizures and therapeutic approaches.Epilepsia open · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), the composition of the gut microbiome changes compared to drug-sensitive patients and healthy individuals. Synbiotics, a mixture of probiotics and prebiotics, aim to improve the balance of bacteria in the gut microbiome. This study aimed to assess the effect of synbiotics on the treatment of DRE and the burden on caregivers.
methodsThis one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was conducted in Arak, Iran. Thirty children with DRE, diagnosed by a pediatric neurologist and meeting the inclusion criteria in 2021-22, were included in the study. In addition to anticonvulsant drugs, infants were administered PediLact at a dose of 5-15 drops per day for eight weeks, and KidiLact at a dose of one sachet per day for eight weeks for children aged 2-15 years. Both PediLact and KidiLact are synbiotics. To investigate the burden on caregivers (parents), the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview was conducted. In addition, the number of epileptic seizures was assessed from mothers before and immediately after the intervention over one month.
resultsThe mean age of the participants in the study was 8.6 years (SD: 3.4). Eighteen participants (60%) were boys, and 12 (40%) were girls. The results of the study showed a statistically significant decrease in the mean burden on caregivers, from 34.20 (SD: 14.4) before the intervention to 30.26 (SD: 15.8) after the intervention (P = 0.017). The mean frequency of seizures decreased significantly, from 15.83 (SD: 12.9) before the intervention to 12.73 (SD: 12.8) after the intervention (P = 0.001). Following the intervention, the seizure frequency stopped in two patients, decreased by 50% in six patients, increased in one patient, and remained unchanged in 21 patients.
conclusionThe results suggest that Symbiotics in DRE patients are associated with a lower parental burden of caregivers and seizure frequency. Well-designed randomized clinical trial studies are recommended to generate rigorous causal evidence and conclusions.
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