Probiotics have been shown to benefit patients with constipation and depression, but whether they specifically alleviate constipation in patients with depression remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei strain Shirota (LcS), formerly Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota, on constipation in patients with depression with specific etiology and gut microbiota and on depressive regimens. Eighty-two patients with constipation were recruited. The subjects consumed 100 mL of a LcS beverage (108 CFU/mL) or placebo every day for 9 weeks. After ingesting beverages for this period, we observed no significant differences in the total patient constipation-symptom (PAC-SYM) scores in the LcS group when compared with the placebo group. However, symptoms/scores in item 7 (rectal tearing or bleeding after a bowel movement) and items 8–12 (stool symptom subscale) were more alleviated in the LcS group than in the placebo group. The Beck Depression Index (BDI) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) scores were all significantly decreased, and the degree of depression was significantly improved in both the placebo and LcS groups (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the groups. The LcS intervention increased the beneficial Adlercreutzia, Megasphaera and Veillonella levels and decreased the bacterial levels related to mental illness, such as Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Sutterella and Oscillibacter. Additionally, the interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were significantly decreased in both the placebo and LcS groups (p < 0.05). In particular, the IL-6 levels were significantly lower in the LcS group than the placebo group after the ingestion period (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the daily consumption of LcS for 9 weeks appeared to relieve constipation and improve the potentially depressive symptoms in patients with depression and significantly decrease the IL-6 levels. In addition, the LcS supplementation also appeared to regulate the intestinal microbiota related to mental illness.
ObjectiveMicroRNAs (miRNAs) have become the focus of most recent efforts in cancer research. However, there have been inconsistencies in the literature regarding the suitability of circulating miRNAs for early detection of gastrointestinal cancers. This study aims to assess the diagnostic performance of circulating miRNAs in detection of gastrointestinal cancer through a meta-analysis.MethodsEligible studies were selected by conducting a systematic literature search of public databases. The sensitivity and specificity were used to plot the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve and calculate the area under the SROC curve (AUC). The between-study heterogeneity was evaluated by Q test and I
2 statistics. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were further performed to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity. All analyses were performed using the STATA 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 107 studies from 42 articles were included for the meta-analysis according to the inclusion criteria. The overall analysis of all gastrointestinal cancers showed that circulating miRNAs have a relatively good diagnostic performance in gastrointestinal cancers, with a sensitivity of 0.75, a specificity of 0.81 and an AUC of 0.85. In addition, subgroup analyses based on different type of miRNA assay suggested that single-miRNA assay displayed a relatively low diagnostic performance with the AUC values of 0.84 for gastric cancer (GC) and 0.79 for colorectal cancer (CRC), while multiple-miRNAs assay significantly improved the diagnosing accuracy with AUC rising to 0.92 for GC and 0.89 for CRC. Another interesting finding was that plasma-based miRNA assay reach a higher accuracy compared with serum-based one for GC, while opposite conclusion was drawn for CRC.ConclusionsIn conclusion, circulating miRNAs, particularly the combination of multiple miRNAs, may present as promising biomarkers for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancers. Further large-scale prospective studies are necessary to validate their potential applicability in human cancer diagnosis.
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