Elemental Diet and Gut Microbiome

Sponsor
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Other)
Overall Status
Recruiting
CT.gov ID
NCT05978973
Collaborator
(none)
30
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1
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Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

he primary objective of this study is to assess changes in stool microbiome profiles in patients after an elemental diet.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Dietary Supplement: Elemental Diet
N/A

Detailed Description

The gut microbiome is the collection of microbes residing inside the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The involvement of the gut microbiome has been demonstrated in multiple diseases processes including irritable bowel syndrome, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis among many other diseases. A "healthy" diverse gut microbiome is associated with a better response to infections and immunopathogenic insults.

Many factors can affect the gut microbiome including medications, age, disease states and diet. Among these factors, diet is the easiest factor that can be modified to improve the gut microbiome. However, conducting dietary trials is challenging due to the inability to fully standardize what subjects eat even with strict dietary instructions. Moreover, individual preferences/allergies, the source of dietary ingredients, freshness, and food preparation are important steps which affect the diet and are challenging to standardize among subjects in a diet trial. This has led to significant ambiguity regarding the true extent and depth of dietary modifications on gut microbiome.

Apart from vitamins and micronutrients, the three main food macronutrients in the human diet are carbohydrates, protein and fat. Upon digestion, carbohydrates are broken into monosaccharides, proteins into amino acids and fats mainly into fatty acids. Elemental diets contain all daily required vitamins, micronutrients and macronutrients. The ingredients are readily digestible (carbohydrates, amino acids and medium chain fatty acids) and are absorbed within the proximal small bowel. One main disadvantage of elemental diets such as Vivonex is their unpalatability which has limited their use. A palatable elemental diet can be a very valuable tool to enable us to assess the effects of diet on the gut microbiome as it bypasses several confounding effects in dietary trials such as food allergies, individual digestion variability, completeness of the diet ingredients, and food preparation.

SIBO is a condition in which the gut microbiome plays an integral role and is defined by abnormal and excessive numbers of bacteria in the small bowel.4 Interest in SIBO has been fueled by the ever-increasing awareness of the human microbiome and its potential relationships to human health and disease. SIBO is a preferred condition to assess the effects of elemental diet on the gut microbiome, given the known role of the gut microbiome in SIBO. Those with SIBO experience a range of intestinal and extraintestinal symptoms including diarrhea, nausea, bloating, abdominal pain, and excess gas.

Commonly, SIBO has been defined by two methods: direct culture of small bowel aspirates, and indirect assessment using carbohydrate (e.g. lactulose or glucose) breath testing. SIBO is generally treated with antibiotics. Low fermentable and elemental diets also have positive effects in SIBO. Based on the potential effects of diet on the gut microbiome, we hypothesize that a two-week period of an elemental diet can change the gut microbiome in SIBO subjects.

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Anticipated Enrollment :
30 participants
Allocation:
N/A
Intervention Model:
Single Group Assignment
Masking:
None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose:
Other
Official Title:
Elemental Diet and Gut Microbiome
Actual Study Start Date :
Aug 6, 2023
Anticipated Primary Completion Date :
Aug 1, 2024
Anticipated Study Completion Date :
Jun 1, 2025

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: elemental diet

subjects will be using the elemental diet packets daily. Subjects who are positive for excessive methane (i.e. methane level>10 ppm) will be required to complete a single daily fasting methane measurement (SMM) for the duration of the 14 days.

Dietary Supplement: Elemental Diet
. Elemental diets contain all daily required vitamins, micronutrients and macronutrients. The ingredients are readily digestible (carbohydrates, amino acids and medium chain fatty acids) and are absorbed within the proximal small bowel. One main disadvantage of elemental diets such as Vivonex is their unpalatability3 which has limited their use.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. assess changes in stool microbiome profiles [28 DAYS]

    is to assess changes in stool microbiome profiles in patients after an elemental diet, as determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing • Microbiome profiles will be determined in stool samples provided on visit 2 (day 0), visit 4 (day 14) and visit 6 (day 28). These analyses will be performed in batch at the end of the study and the profiles at visit 4 (day 14) and visit 6 (day 28) will be compared to those at visit 2 (day 0).

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years to 85 Years
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
No
Inclusion Criteria:
  • • Participant must be able to understand and provide informed consent

  • Males and Females ≥18-85

  • Female subjects of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test upon study entry

  • Female (and male) subjects with reproductive potential, must agree to use FDA approved methods of birth control for the duration of the study

  • Subject self-reports experiencing SIBO symptoms within 30 days

  • Positive (abnormal) lactulose breath test for SIBO on visit 1 (day -7) as defined as:

  • Rise of hydrogen ≥ 20ppm within 90 minutes on LBT OR

  • A methane level ≥10 ppm at any point during the 120-minute LBT

Exclusion Criteria:
  • • Inability or unwillingness of a participant to give written informed consent or comply with study protocol

  • Pregnancy or lactating

  • Type 1 or type 2 diabetes

  • Active or ongoing infection that requires antibiotics other than the participants known prophylactic medications (i.e. active infection or antibiotic use in the last 1 month)

  • Any condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, contraindicates participation in this study will be excluded from study participation.

  • History of known Phenylketonuria (PKU) disease

  • Non-English-speaking participants

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles California United States 90048

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Bianca Chang, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

Responsible Party:
Bianca Chang, Principal Investigator, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT05978973
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • STUDY00002455:
First Posted:
Aug 7, 2023
Last Update Posted:
Aug 10, 2023
Last Verified:
Aug 1, 2023
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
No
Plan to Share IPD:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
No
Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Aug 10, 2023