A low glycemic index, energy-restricted diet but not Lactobacillus rhamnosus supplementation changes fecal short-chain fatty acid and serum lipid concentrations in women with overweight or obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate if changes in fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) content with an energy-restricted diet and with/without 12 × 109 CFU/day of Lactobacillus rhamnosus supplementation affect the abundance of selected gut bacteria and lipid profile in overweight and obese women with PCOS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This randomized controlled trial involved 40 overweight and obese women with a mean age of 28.8 ± 4.8 years diagnosed with PCOS. The subjects were randomly assigned to an energy-restricted diet group (D group; n = 21) or energy-restricted diet + Lactobacillus rhamnosus supplementation group (DP group; n=19). SCFA, selected gut bacteria (Akkermansia muciniphila, Bifidobacterium longum, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii) abundance, lipid profile and anthropometric parameters were evaluated at baseline and after twenty weeks of intervention.

RESULTS

The energy-restricted diet significantly reduced body weight, BMI, fat mass, acetic and butyric acids, and improved the lipid profile (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides) of both groups. Changes in the molar ratio of SCFA towards the correct ratio were also observed. All the results were independent of Lactobacillus rhamnosus supplementation, with no significant differences between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Twenty weeks of probiotic supplementation has no additional beneficial effects on selected gut bacteria abundance, SCFA levels, or lipid profile beyond the effect of an energy-restricted diet in overweight and obese women with PCOS.

Apolipoprotein E polymorphism and vitamin K status in cystic fibrosis patients not supplemented with vitamin K

OBJECTIVE

ApoE alleles have been shown to significantly correlate with vitamin K status, however, data concerning this phenomenon in cystic fibrosis (CF) are scarce. This study aimed to investigate the effect of ApoE polymorphism on vitamin K status in a unique group of CF patients who had never received vitamin K supplementation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study group consisted of 93 CF patients aged from 3 months to 32 years. Vitamin K status was assessed by the concentration of prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence (PIVKA-II) and the percentage of undercarboxylated osteocalcin (u-OC). The clinical status was evaluated in all patients.

RESULTS

Fifty-four (65.1%) out of 83 patients had a pathological PIVKA-II concentration (≥2 ng/ml) and an abnormal percentage of u-OC (≥20%). There were no differences in the clinical parameters, including PIVKA-II concentration (p=0.7752) and u-OC percentage (p=0.8395), between patients with genotypes ApoE2/3, ApoE3/3 and ApoE3/4. Moreover, the frequency of vitamin K deficiency did not significantly differ in CF patients with ApoE2/3, ApoE3/3 and ApoE3/4 genotypes (66.7 vs. 69.9 vs. 80%, p=0.8411; 87.5 vs. 89.6 vs. 100%, p=1.000, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of the ApoE4 allele does not influence the vitamin K status in CF patients who have never received vitamin K supplementation.