BREAKING! Italian Study Shows That Oral Probiotics Comprising Of Lactic Acid Bacteria And Bifidobacteria Decreases Risk Of Respiratory Failure In COVID-19!

Probiotics-COVID-19: A new study by Italian researchers from the University of Rome and the University of L’Aquila has found that oral bacteriotherapy involving probiotics comprising of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria not only decreases the risk of respiratory failure in COVID-19 but it also decreases the risk of disease severity and also the need for hospitalization. Oral administration of the probiotic mixture also increase blood oxygen levels including p02, O2Hb and Sa02 compared to patients only receiving standard care.

 
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Nutrients. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/8/2898
 
In the study a therapeutic probiotic compound called SLAB51 which is basically an oral bacteriotherapy comprising of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria was used to investigate the therapeutic effects of bacteriotherapy on COVID-19 and the mechanisms involved and how these mechanisms are activated.
 
The same study team in a in a previous retrospective study of 200 patients had showed that COVID-19 infected individuals treated with a specific formulation of bacteria (SLAB51) had a significantly higher chance of survival. Moreover, they also reported then that the risk of developing respiratory failure for a patient is reduced eightfold by administering SLAB51 in addition to the standard used therapy. https://internal-journal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2020.613928/full
 
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00389/full
 
The study team aimed to investigate further SLAB51’s short-term action in alleviating the respiratory conditions in subjects presenting SARS-CoV-2 infections. 
 
It has been found that a consistent number of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals need hospitalization for lesions affecting more than 50% of the lungs.
 
The Probiotics-COVID-19 study used an analysis on the blood oxygenation parameters collected in sixty-nine severe COVID-19 patients requiring non-invasive oxygen therapy and presenting a CT lung involvement more than 50%. Twenty-nine patients received low-molecular-weight heparin, azithromycin and Remdesivir. In addition, forty subjects received SLAB51. Blood gas analysis were performed before the beginning of treatments and at 24 hours.
 
The study team found that the patients receiving only standard therapy needed significantly increased oxygen amounts during the 24 hour observation period. Furthermore, they presented lower blood levels of p02, O2Hb an Sa02 than the group also supplemented with oral bacteriotherapy . In vitro data suggest that SLAB51 can reduce nitric oxide synthesis in intestinal cells.
 
The study findings offer evidence that SLAB51 contains bacteria endowed with arginine deiminase activity (ADI), which catalyzes L-arginine’s hydrolysis to citrulline and ammonia. ADI inhibits the arginine-dependent synthesis of nitric oxide (NO). This gas i s a signaling molecule for the innate inflammatory immune response and modulates intestinal vasodilation. Furthermore, ADI, by depleting arginine, may exert antiviral activity against some viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, and decrease the hyperinflammatory lung damage characteristics of patients with severe COVID-19.
 
The “oxygen sparing effect” of SLAB51 might be useful in the time-sensitive race to maintain oxygenation at sufficient levels and reduce the need for intensive care admissions.
 
The study team explained, “Notably, although the group treated with only standard care was supplied with significantly increased amounts of oxygen during the 24 h observation period, at the endpoint, it presented substantially lower blood oxygenation than that observed for the RUT+OB one. According to surface tension and La Place’s law, during ARDS and pneumonia, the alveoli tend to become flooded entirely or not flooded at all. External oxygen furniture to increase the O2 quantity provided to the patient may not guarantee the hypoxemia resolution. The amount of absorbed oxygen is limited mainly by the finite gas exchange capability of damaged alveoli, combined with the reduced number of alveolar cells effectively working in COVID-19 compromised lungs. Consequently, the significantly lower pO2/FiO2 ratio registered values, at 24 h, for the RUT group confirms the tendency to a worsening of hypoxemia when only the standard therapy is administered. Previously published studies suggest that the recovery of lung injury associated with COVID-19 is slow and that, in severely ill patients, pulmonary troubles can persist for a long time after hospital discharge. The subjects enrolled in our study had a CT lung involvement ≥ 50%.  It is common clinical knowledge that an effective lung recovery certainly takes more than hours in these conditions. The improvement of the oxygenation parameters within a few hours from the administration of SLAB51 suggests that this product modulates the blood consumption of oxygen in the gut. Less oxygen consumption by the intestinal cells results in more oxygen available for other organs.”
 
The study team concluded that SARS-CoV-2 infected patients may present lesions in the lungs compromising their gas exchange capability. The functionality of the organs essential for these patients’ survival depends mainly on the levels of p)2, O2HB and Sa02. SLAB51 contains enzymes that could reduce oxygen consumption in the intestine, making it available for the other organs.
 
The team added, “Majority of SARS-CoV-2 infected subjects need hospitalization for lesions affecting more than 50% of the lungs. In COVID-19 patients, as the alveoli swelling worsens, it becomes more difficult for the body to absorb oxygen. Depending on various co-factors such as age, lifestyle, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc., the reduced gas exchange interface is accompanied by progressive damage to the body’s organs, in some cases, facilitating the progression of the conditions up to death. SLAB51 contains ADI, which is useful in contrasting the viral infection and mitigating the COVID-19-associated inflammatory status. While waiting for the lung to recuperate its functions, the “oxygen sparing effect” of SLAB51 might be useful in the time-sensitive race to maintain oxygenation at sufficient levels and reduce the need for intensive care admissions.”
 
The study team also advocated further detailed studies and also clinical trials to confirm their findings.
 
Thailand Medical News had also covered other research proposing the usage of probiotics to treat COVID-19 or about the issue of unhealthy gut microbiome helping to cause disease progression in COVID-19.
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/emerging-studies-showing-role-of-gut-microbiome-in-covid-19-and-benefits-of-probiotics-for-treatments-and-as-prophylactics-
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/gut-microbiota-hong-kong-researchers-say-that-certain-probiotics-could-enhance-the-immune-system-to-fight-against-covid-19
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-treatments-probiotics-could-be-used-as-adjuvants-to-treat-covid-19-
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-latest-study-indicates-that-individuals-with-poor-gut-health-likely-to-develop-severity-when-infected-with-the-sars-cov-2-coronavirus
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-research-disruption-of-gut-microbiome-could-be-also-be-a-contributing-factor-to-disease-severity-in-covid-19-patients
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/gut-microbiota-possible-link-with-covid-19-susceptibility
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/study-in-bmj-journal-says-women-do-modestly-benefit-from-multivitamins,-omega-3-supplements-and-probiotics-in-terms-of-decreasing-risk-of-covid-19
 
Please help to support this website by making donation. Your help truly helps. Thank You. https://www.thailandmedical.news/p/sponsorship
 
For more on Probiotics-COVID-19, keep on logging to Thailand Medical News.