Therapeutic Methods for Gut Microbiota Modification in Lipopolysaccharide-Associated Encephalopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of four therapeutic methods to modify gut microbiota dysbiosis and brain dysfunction in septic rats.

METHODS: Rats were treated with fecal microbiota transplantation, prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics after exposure to lipopolysaccharide. The diversity and composition of gut microbiota, electroencephalogram values, and the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the cortex were analyzed.

RESULTS: Fecal microbiota transplantation was the most efficacious method to restore intestinal microbial diversity and exert the best corrective effects in modulating microbial composition in septic rats. More interestingly, fecal microbiota transplantation exerted the best protective effects in brain dysfunction in septic rats.

CONCLUSION: Among the four methods, fecal microbiota transplantation was the most useful method to modify the dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota and improve brain function in septic rats. These findings reveal the protective consequence of microbiota modification, and the findings suggest opportunities to improve brain function in sepsis.