Photo Credit: Ridofranz
The following is a summary of “Correlation between gut microbiome and cognitive impairment in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis,” published in the December 2023 issue of Nephrology by Wang et al.
Growing evidence links peritoneal dialysis (PD) with increased cognitive impairment in patients compared to non-dialysis end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but the underlying mechanisms need further exploration.
Researchers launched a retrospective study to determine the involvement and predictive value of gut microbiome changes in cognitive decline associated with peritoneal dialysis.
They enrolled 29 non-dialysis ESRD patients and 28 PD patients in the study, categorizing them based on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Fecal samples underwent analysis using 16 S rRNA. Cognitive impairment in patients was evaluated using scores from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and MoCA.
The results showed differences in gut microbiome abundance and structure between PD and non-dialysis ESRD patients and between PD patients with cognitive impairment (PCI) and PD patients with normal cognition (PNCI) through 16 S rRNA analysis. Prevotellaceae exhibited the greatest structure difference at family and genus levels, while Lactobacillus showed the greatest abundance difference between PCI and PNCI. Altered microbiota abundance significantly correlated with cognitive function and serum indicators in PD. 16 S rRNA data inferred different modules related to fatty acid, lipid, pantothenate, coenzyme A biosynthesis, and tyrosine and tryptophan metabolism between PCI and PNCI. Models based on the abundance of Lactobacillaceae (Area under the curve [AUC] = 0.83), Actinomycetaceae (AUC = 0.798), and Prevotellaceae (AUC = 0.778) families and Lactobacillus (AUC = 0.848) and Actinomyces (AUC = 0.798) genera could distinguish both groups.
Investigators concluded that gut microbiome analysis may have facilitated early detection of cognitive impairment in PD patients.
Source: bmcnephrol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12882-023-03410-z
