The Beneficial Effects of Lactobacillus GG Therapy on Liver and Drinking Assessments in Patients with Moderate Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis

Vatsalya Vatsalya; Wenke Feng; Maiying Kong; Huirong Hu; Gyongyi Szabo; Arthur McCullough; Srinivasan Dasarathy; Laura E Nagy; Svetlana Radaeva; Bruce Barton; Mack Mitchell; Craig J McClain

doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000002283

The Beneficial Effects of Lactobacillus GG Therapy on Liver and Drinking Assessments in Patients with Moderate Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis

Am J Gastroenterol. 2023 Aug 1;118(8):1457-1460. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000002283. Epub 2023 Apr 11.

Authors

Vatsalya Vatsalya^{1

2

3}, Wenke Feng^{1

3

4

5}, Maiying Kong⁶, Huirong Hu⁶, Gyongyi Szabo^{7

8}, Arthur McCullough⁹, Srinivasan Dasarathy⁹, Laura E Nagy⁹, Svetlana Radaeva¹⁰, Bruce Barton⁷, Mack Mitchell¹¹, Craig J McClain^{1

2

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
² Robley Rex VA Medical Center, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
³ University of Louisville Alcohol Research Center, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
⁴ Hepatobiology & Toxicology Program, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
⁵ Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
⁶ Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, School of Public Health and Information Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
⁷ University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁹ Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
¹⁰ NIAAA, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
¹¹ University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: We investigated the effect of daily oral Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) in reducing liver injury/severity and drinking in patients with alcohol use disorder and moderately severe alcohol-associated hepatitis.

Methods: Forty-six male and female individuals with alcohol use disorder and moderate alcohol-associated hepatitis (12 ≤ model for end-stage liver disease score < 20, aged 21-67 years) received either LGG (n = 24) or placebo (n = 22). Data were collected/assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months.

Results: LGG treatment was associated with a significant reduction in liver injury after 1 month. Six months of LGG treatment reduced heavy drinking levels to social or abstinence levels.

Discussion: LGG treatment was associated with an improvement in both liver injury and drinking.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01922895.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Alcoholism*
End Stage Liver Disease*
Female
Hepatitis, Alcoholic* / therapy
Humans
Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus*
Male
Probiotics* / therapeutic use
Severity of Illness Index

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01922895

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data

Grants and funding