Placebo-resistant gut bacteria: spp. and Familial Mediterranean fever disease.

INTRODUCTION

Despite numerous investigations into the impact of drugs/probiotics on the gut microbiota composition in Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) patients, the question as to whether there exists a significant bacterial diversity(ies) independent of the placebo effect that can be reliably considered in clinical and nutritional trials remains unresolved.

METHODS

This study represents the in augural analysis of the placebo's influence on the gut microbiota of both healthy individuals and FMF afflicted men, utilizing previously collected data from PhyloChip™ DNA microarray experiments. A total of 15 healthy and 15 FMF male volunteers, aged 18 to 50, participated in this partially randomized placebo trial, which is accessible through the GEO Series accession number GSE111835.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Key findings from current investigations include the anticipated divergence in gut bacteria resistance to placebo between healthy and FMF individuals, the minor impact of placebo on gut bacterial diversities in healthy individuals, with diversities identified as placebo-resistant among "healthy" gut bacteria, and the comprehensive influence of placebo on all bacterial phyla in the gut microbiome of FMF patients, extending to nearly all bacterial genera, except for the resilience of gut spp. to placebo in FMF patients. This study underscores the susceptibility of , , and genera to placebo. Consequently, this investigation holds significance for the proper design of placebo-controlled trials and establishes a foundation for further exploration of the gut-brain axis. Furthermore, it contributes valuable insights to discussions regarding proposals for probiotic therapies, particularly focusing on spp., spp., and spp.