The Effect of GeriLact on inflammation, gastrointestinal symptoms and quality of life in hemodialysis patients

 Introduction: The prevalence of chronic kidney disease is increasing throughout the world. It is possible that synbiotic supplementation in kidney diseases might affect on intestinal nitrogenous metabolites. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of synbiotic supplementation on serum concentrations of inflammatory marker, gastrointestinal symptom, quality of life and bowel habit in Iranian HD patients.

Methods:This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed among 48 Iranian hemodialysis patients. Participants consumed either two capsules of synbiotic or placebo for 8 weeks of intervention. Quality of life, bowel habits and biochemical markers of hemodialysis patients were assessed. Analysis of covariance was used to compare the results of synbiotic and placebo groups.

Results: The synbiotic supplementation improved non-significantly the quality of life of patients in compare to placebo group. Furthermore, the effects of synbiotic consumption on bowel habits did not show any significant results. However, the placebo group had significant reduction in defecation frequency (p=0.01). Synbiotic supplementation resulted in beneficial improvement in total white blood cells and its differentiation (p<0.05).

Discussion: Administration of synbiotic in hemodialysis patients could be used as a safe approach for improving quality of life score and gastrointestinal problems in this particular group.