Probiotics improve psoriasis disease activity, quality of life after 8 weeks
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An 8-week course of daily probiotics was associated with improvements in a number of psoriasis disease parameters, including quality of life, according to study findings.
“Studies have proposed a link between psoriasis and imbalanced gut microbiome,” Jalal Moludi, PhD, of the School of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in Kermanshah, Iran, and colleagues wrote.
With this in mind, the researchers suggested that modulating gut microbiota using probiotics could have a number of positive outcomes in this patient population, including clinical improvement and reduction in chronic inflammation and cardiovascular risk factors.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 46 patients with psoriasis.
Participants in the active treatment arm were treated with capsules that contained at least 1.6 x 109 colony-forming units per gram of multi-strain bacteria for 2 months.
The primary outcome measure was PASI. The researchers also assessed for blood pressure; quality of life (QOL) as assessed by SF-36; pro-inflammatory cytokines such as hs-CRP and interleukin (IL)1-B; and lipopolysaccharides.
Results showed significant QOL improvements in the probiotic group compared with the placebo group (–19.1 ± 3.1 vs. 13.3 ± 5.6; P = .034).
Regarding PASI score, probiotics also bested placebo (–5.06 ± 2.1 vs. 0.3 ± 1.8; P = .049).
Serum LPS levels also were reported among patients in the probiotic group compared with the placebo group, (–7.21 ± 10.33 vs. –2.74 ± 0.97 mmol/L; P =.01).
Probiotics also improved on placebo in terms of hs-CRP levels (–1.67 ± 0.95 vs. –0.7 + 0.38 mg/L; P = .013), and IL1-beta levels (–1.64 ± 1.1 vs. 0.17 + –0.2 mg/L; P = .043).
“This study shows that 8 weeks probiotics supplementation results in significant improvement in psoriasis severity and patient-reported quality of life,” the researchers concluded. “Moreover, the daily consumption of probiotics for 8 weeks had beneficial effects on improving the inflammatory and oxidative stress status associated with psoriasis.”