The diversity of the intestinal microbiota in patients with alcohol use disorder and its relationship to alcohol consumption and cognition

Abstract

IntroductionAlcohol use disorder (AUD) has evolved into a severe social and medical issue. However, the exact environmental factors triggering AUD pathophysiology remain unknown. A growing body of research has shown that environmental elements can affect the brain via the microbiota-gut-brain axis.MethodsWe employed 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology to investigate the composition and diversity of intestinal microbiota in 32 AUD males and 35 healthy controls (HCs), as well as its relationship on cognitive function.ResultsOur findings showed that the alpha diversity indices in AUDs were much lower than HCs. The abundances of Faecalibacterium, Gemmiger, Lachnospiracea_incertae_sedis, Megamonas, and Escherichia were significantly different between AUD and HC groups and could be used as a basis for judging whether excessive drinking. The abundances of Faecalibacterium, Gemmiger, Escherichia, and Fusobacterium can be used to judge the cognitive function of the population.ConclusionThese data suggested that the gut dysbiosis in AUD patients, and some specific microbiota were considered to be related to alcohol intake and cognitive function. This study provides important information for further study of the pathogenesis of AUD from the perspective of intestinal microbiota.

Baseline gut microbiome and metabolites are correlated with alcohol consumption in a zonisamide clinical trial of heavy drinking alcoholic civilians

“…Genera positively correlated with drinking reduction in this study (Collinsella, Bilophila, and Eubacterium) have been similarly found to be enriched in patients with AUD relative to healthy controls while Akkermansia was depleted relative to healthy controls. 46,47 In this study, we found that Akkermansia was negatively correlated with percent drinking reduction suggesting that a lower abundance of Akkermansia may be beneficial for reduced alcohol consumption.…”

“…This difference appears to be driven by composition as opposed to microbial richness, as alpha diversity is relatively consistent across participants, but beta diversity differs widely. Individuals with AUD are often reported to have lower alpha diversity as compared with healthy controls 46,47 but this is not always the case. 17,27 There is even less consensus on the relationship between AUD severity and alpha diversity.…”

A mediation analysis of the role of total free fatty acids on pertinence of gut microbiota composition and cognitive function in late life depression

“…In this study, the abundance of 183 bacteria species was detected at the genus level. After reviewing the previous literature, 8 species of bacteria most likely related to cognition and emotion, Bacteroides [ 27 – 29 ] , Prevotella [ 30 – 32 ] , Megamonas [ 33 – 35 ] , Parabacteroides [ 29 , 36 , 37 ] , Ruminococcus [ 37 – 39 ], Faecalibacterium [ 33 , 40 , 41 ] , Bifidobacterium [ 36 , 42 , 43 ], and Akkermansia [ 40 , 44 , 45 ], were included for further analysis.…”

Microbiota and nutrition as risk and resiliency factors following prenatal alcohol exposure

“…The impact of alcohol exposure on gut microbiota has also been documented in individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Individuals with AUDs were found to have decreased bacterial community diversity and statistical analyses indicated these altered microbiota could be biomarkers of both amount of alcohol consumed and decreased cognitive function associated with alcohol consumption ( Du et al, 2022 ). A systematic review of alterations to gut microbiota in individuals with AUD showed that a common outcome was a reduction in Ruminococcus, Collinsella, and Prevotella genera and an increase in Proteobacteria phylum ( Litwinowicz et al, 2020 ).…”