Eradication of intestinal bacterial overgrowth as a treatment method for functional dyspepsia

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common gastrointestinal functional diseases, occurring in an average of 10 % of the adult population. Recently, much attention is being paid to the infectious factor in FD pathophysiology. In addition to H. pylori infection and acute gastrointestinal infections, consideration is given to the syndrome of intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), in which the number of bacteria in the small intestine increases significantly. Objective — to establish the SIBO prevalence in patients with different FD subtypes and to establish the clinical and microbiological efficacy of rifaximin‑a (Alpha Normix®) at this pathology. Materials and methods. To refine the SIBO prevalence, 118 patients with FD were examined in three gastroenterological centers, including 45 men, 73 women aged 22 to 45 years (mean age — 35 ± 10 years). The control group consisted of 30 clinically healthy people with the mean age 33 ± 12 years. The diagnosis of FD and establishment of its subtype was performed according to Rome IV criteria. All patients underwent upper endoscopy with biopsy and H. pylori testing, which did not show any structural abnormalities. To diagnose SIBO, all patients underwent H2‑breath test with lactulose (H2‑LBT). All patients, depending on the FD subtype, received basic therapy with either a proton pump inhibitor (Omeprazole 20 mg once a day) at FD with epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) (group 1, n = 37), or prokinetic (Itopride in a dose of 50 mg three times a day) at FD with postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) (group 2, n = 36) for two weeks. Patients with positive H2‑LBT result, which predicted SIBO presence, were administered monotherapy with rifaximin‑a (Alpha Normix®) in a dose of 1200 mg/day for 10 days. The effectiveness of the treatment was assessed after 2 and 4 weeks based on the dynamics of the scores of SAGIS (Structured Assessment of Gastrointestinal Symptom) scale. Results. According to the positive H2‑LBT results, SIBO presence was recorded in 45 of 118 patients with FD (38.1 %) and 2 (6.6 %) subjects from the control group. Positive H2‑LBT result was significantly more often recorded in patients with FD‑PDS (45.4 %) compared with patients with FD‑EPS (28.8 %, p < 0.01) and all patients with FD (38.1 %). Moreover, SIBO was significantly more common in patients with postinfectious FD (50 % of patients, p < 0.01). The use of rifaximin in a dose of 1200 mg/day for 10 days was accompanied by the clinical improvement in 28 of 45 patients (62.2 %) after 4 weeks of treatment. The clinical efficacy of rifaximin in FD patients on the SAGIS scale did not differ significantly from the efficacy of PPIs and prokinetics used in FD‑EPS and FD‑PDS, respectively. After 4 weeks, in 36 of 45 patients, repeated H2‑LBT was negative, which indirectly indicated the SIBO eradication and high antibacterial efficacy of rifaximin. Rifaximin treatment was safe, and minor side effects were observed in only 3 patients (6.6 %). Conclusions. SIBO is quite often associated with FD and is observed in more than every third patient. In patients with FD‑PDS, SIBO was found significantly more often than in patients with FD‑EPS, which emphasizes the important role of slowing gastric emptying in the development of SIBO. Also, SIBO is significantly more common in patients with postinfectious FD, which emphasizes the important role of the intestinal microbiome in maintaining the stability of the structural and functional state of the gastrointestinal tract. The obtained data allow to consider SIBO as a possible pathogenetic factor of FD, at least in some patients. This requires timely diagnosis and correction of SIBO in patients with FD, in particular with the use of rifaximin‑a.

A Review on Acotiamide

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is mainly treated by drugs like H2 receptors antagonists, Proton pump inhibitors, prokinetics. A novel prokinetic drug to treat FD with 2 subtypes: Epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) & postprandial distress syndrome (PDS), has been introduced recently by the approval of Acotiamide, the first in class, muscarinic receptor antagonist & cholinesterase inhibitor. It has shown improvement in gastric motility in rodents & dogs and reduced PDS symptoms in patients in Double- blinded multicentric study.

The Role of Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Functional Dyspepsia

Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a syndrome mostly diagnosed by subjective patients’ symptoms after excluding organic, systemic and metabolic diseases. Aim: The goal of this study is to evaluate gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia, by measuring the antral area (cm2) after the intake of a test meal using ultrasonography as an objective and widely applicable method. Material and Methods: This study included 30 patients (mean age of 46.53 ±9.73 years) with symptoms of FD according to the ROMA IV criteria and 30 healthy individuals (mean age of 42.87 ±4.42 years). A 5 MHz ultrasound probe was used to measure the stomach antral area at 6 different time points: in the fasting state, following the meal intake at 5, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min postprandially. Results: The antral area was statistically significantly larger after a 30-minute postprandial period in patients with FD comparing to healthy controls (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the rate of gastric emptying at 120 minutes in patients with functional dyspepsia, compared to healthy subjects (p <0.01). Patients with postprandial distress syndrome had the average value of gastric emptying 48.25 compared to 56.09 in patients with epigastric pain syndrome (p <0.05). The slowest emptying was observed in patients with nausea and postprandial fullness (p <0.05). Conclusion: Functional dyspepsia is associated with delayed gastric emptying. Using ultrasonography to measure the antral area helps us to assess gastric emptying and therefore to assess patients with functional dyspepsia. The antral area was significantly larger in patients with functional dyspepsia compared to healthy subjects after the test meal, suggesting slower gastric emptying in the dyspeptic patients. Since the diagnosis of functional dyspepsia is based mostly on diverse patients’ symptoms, using ultrasonography to measure the antral area helps us to objectively assess this problem.

Evaluation of main functional dyspepsia symptoms after probiotic administration in patients receiving conventional pharmacological therapies

Objective Postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) and epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) are the two main forms of functional dyspepsia (FD). Probiotics are a promising therapy for FD, but current data remains heterogeneous. This work aims to evaluate a probiotic combination of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus LR04 (DSM 16605), Lactiplantibacillus pentosus LPS01 (DSM 21980), Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LP01 (LMG P-21021), and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbruekii LDD01 (DMS 22106), alone or together with other pharmacological therapies, for clinical improvement of symptoms associated with FD. Methods Patients with FD were enrolled and divided into two groups: PDS and EPS. Probiotic alone or combined with prokinetics, antacids, or proton-pump-inhibitors were administered for 30 days. A progressive-score scale was used to evaluate symptoms in all patients at the beginning of the trial and at 15 days after the end of treatment. Results A cohort of 2676 patients were enrolled (1 357 with PDS; 1 319 with EPS). All patients showed significant improvements in dyspeptic symptoms following treatment. In patients with PDS, probiotic alone resulted in the lowest prevalence of symptoms following treatment, while patients with EPS showed no clear between-treatment differences. Conclusions Dyspeptic symptoms were reduced following treatment in all patients.

Establishment of Multi-Dimensional Detection Series (MDS) For the Assessments of Gastric Motility Alterations in Patients With Functional Dyspepsia

Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is sub-categorized into postprandial distress syndrome (FD-PDS) and epigastric pain syndrome (FD-EPS). It is a necessary to determine a series of safe, feasible, non-invasive, and economical assessment methods, which may detect more pathophysiological alterations to guide corresponding treatment. Aim: To establish a multi-dimensional detection series (MDS) comprehensively evaluating the gastric motility of FD patients and verify the clinical value of MDS. Methods: FD-PDS patients (meeting Rome IV criteria) were recruited, among which 35 patients were enrolled in FD group. 30 healthy volunteers were recruited into the Control group (C group). After the assessment of psychology and symptom scales, the following tests (measuring gastric motility from different latitude) were conducted in both groups. Then, the differential indexes between the two groups were determined and a multi-dimensional detection series for FD was combined according to the statistical principle. Finally, the MDS was used to test another group for verifying its validity and feasibility. Results: The differential indexes could be detected (P<0.05), including Maximum gastric tolerance, 10 min, 20min and 30 min Sufficiency score, Postprandial slow wave ratio, Post-meal/pre-meal power ratio, 20 min and 30 min Gastric emptying rate, and Low frequency/High frequency of HRV. A formula was constructed it was proved that MDS could give evidences of normal or abnormal gastric motility. Conclusions: MDS may help clinicians to discover more pathophysiological alterations of gastric motility in FD patient, and potentially provide a basis for corresponding treatments.

Comparison of a Novel Herbal Medicine and Omeprazole in the Treatment of Functional Dyspepsia: A Randomized Double-Blinded Clinical Trial

Background. The Trachyspermum ammi L. (TA), Anethum graveolens L. (AG), and Zataria multiflora Boiss (ZM) herbal oils are among the most used herbal products in traditional medicine as the antiseptic, anesthetic, carminative, and antispasmodic. However, there are no clinical studies to evaluate the efficacy of the herbs mentioned in the treatment of functional dyspepsia (FD). This study was designed to appraise the efficacy and safety of a novel herbal medicine consisting of ZM, AG, and TA essential oils compared to omeprazole in FD treatment. Methods. The present study was a randomized double-blind clinical trial with parallel groups in Iran. Patients in control and intervention arms received omeprazole 20 mg once a day and 250 mg soft-gel capsules containing 180 mg of essential oils of ZM, AG, and TA twice a day for two weeks, respectively. The primary outcome was the sufficient response rate in the postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) and/or epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) at the end of the intervention. Secondary outcomes were the improvement rate in the PDS, EPS, Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), and quality of life scores. Also, safety and tolerability were assessed. Results. The within-group comparison of EPS, PDS, total GSRS, GSRS Pain, and GSRS Dyspepsia scores with that at the end of the treatment indicated a significant reduction in both control and intervention groups ( p < 0.001 ). However, after two weeks of treatment, the herbal medication and omeprazole arms were significantly different in the sufficient response rate based on PDS ( p < 0.01 ) and EPS ( p < 0.05 ) scores (78.3% (18/23) and 73.7% (14/19) in the intervention group vs. 36.4% (8/22) and 40.9% (9/22) in the control group). Also, the mean reduction in EPS ( p < 0.05 ), PDS ( p < 0.01 ), and GSRS ( p < 0.001 ) scores after treatment was significantly higher in the intervention group than control group. Conclusion. Based on the study findings, this herbal medicine can be considered as an appropriate treatment of FD. However, a larger multicenter trial is needed to confirm the results of the trial.

Modern aspects of the pathogenesis and treatment of dyspepsia

A review of current data suggests that the attention to the problem of dyspepsia is huge. The definition of functional dyspepsia was given in the Rome IV criteria, according to which two of its main options are distinguished – epigastric pain syndrome and postprandial distress syndrome. The term “uninvestigated dyspepsia” is important, which means the presence of dyspepsia symptoms in patients who have not performed diagnostic procedures to identify the organic causes of the pathology. The prevalence of uninvestigated dyspepsia in the world is about 21%. The prevalence of functional dyspepsia is significantly lower than the prevalence of uninvestigated dyspepsia and fluctuates around 10%. The risk factors for dyspepsia are usually tobacco smoking, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and/or aspirin, and Helicobacter pylori infection. The concept of the pathogenesis of functional dyspepsia undergoes significant changes. By analogy with the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome, lesions of the relationship between the modulation of the cerebral cortex and the signal system of the gastroduodenal zone, the association of sluggish immune inflammation in the duodenum with motility and sensory activity of the stomach are most actively studied. The treatment of functional dyspepsia is a complex problem and changes after new ideas about its pathogenesis. Modern meta-analyzes have made it possible to expand the indications for the proton pump inhibitors administration, which can be actively used not only for the treatment of epigastric pain syndrome, but also for postprandial distress syndrome. Along with the required Helicobacter pylori eradication, there are reasons for the use of probiotics and antibiotics for the dyspepsia treatment.