Gut as well as saliva indicates liver disease flare-ups
In a recent study, researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine analyzed saliva of cirrhosis patients to predict which ones would suffer inflammations and require hospitalization. This uncovered a new target for research into the disease.
An age old signal of inflammation in those with cirrhosis has been the breakdown of defenses in the mucosa of the gut. However, the recent findings suggest that saliva, along with fluid in the gut, can be an indicator of inflammation. It has been long believed that most of the pathogenesis of cirrhosis starts in the gut. These findings point out that there is a need to further explore the oral cavity and its connections to liver disease.
The study involved more than 100 cirrhosis patients from VCU and VA Medical Center, 38 of whom had to be hospitalized within 90 days because of flare-ups. In patients who required hospitalization, researchers found that the ratio of good-to-bad microbes was similar in the saliva and in the stool. Another part of the same study looked at an additional group of more than 80 people with and without cirrhosis. Those with cirrhosis had impaired salivary defenses, mirroring the immune deficiencies that take place in the gut.
The data suggest that there may be a change in the overall mucosal-immune interface in cirrhosis patients, allowing a more toxic microbiota to emerge in both the gut and oral cavity. The findings could trigger a change in the way chronic liver disease and associated microbiota is studied. It will help predict the disease status of cirrhosis patients using oral microbiota. Furthermore, the new evidence could provide a useful tool for testing treatment protocols for patients with cirrhosis or other diseases driven by inflammation.
This paper, “Salivary Microbiota Reflects Changes in Gut Microbiota in Cirrhosis with Hepatic Encephalopathy” has been accepted for publication in the journal Hepatology.
