4. Discussion
reduction in cognitive fatigue symptoms, fatigue, cognitive impairment, anxiety/depression, inflammation, diet-induced cognitive decline, Cognitive fatigue, ’ health complaints, Fatigue
INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, OBESE
Emerging evidence linking alterations in the gut microbiota composition with the clinical symptoms reported by ME/CFS patients suggests a potential therapeutic role for microbiome-targeted interventions, such as prebiotic supplementation. By restoring intestinal homeostasis, this approach may help alleviate sufferers’ health complaints and improve their quality of life. Therefore, to investigate the advantages of the proposed intervention, this clinical trial was designed to evaluate the effect of a food supplement ImmunoVitaIn this study, beta-glucan supplements were administered to individuals with ME/CFS over a prolonged time period (36 weeks). A slight reduction in cognitive fatigue symptoms was reported along with an improvement in self-reported HR-QoL in the active arm of the study participants. Another controlled study assessing the effects of beta-glucan supplementation in ME/CFS patients over a 12-week period showed a significant reduction in patients’ self-perceived fatigue and an improvement in their immune function compared to the placebo group [The main findings of this study provide early evidence that administration of beta-glucan may influence certain neurocognitive outcomes related to perceived fatigue in ME/CFS patients after 36 months’ treatment. The outcomes are consistent with the growing body of evidence supporting the presence of a two-way hormonal and neural signaling pathway between the gut microbiome–brain axis and its ability to influence metabolism, behavior, and neurocognitive functions through the production of microbial by-products exerting various local and systemic effects on gut hormones, oxidative stress, and inflammation in ME/CFS [Cognitive fatigue became less severe after the 36-week treatment with beta-glucan, as did exhaustion, but the differences with respect to placebo were not significant. The lack of cognitive energy was less severe in the active group compared to the baseline. These results are in line with pre-clinical studies showing that beta-glucan attenuates cognitive impairment via the gut–brain axis in diet-induced obese mice [Evidence from human trials has shown that increasing prebiotic fiber intake can influence perceived fatigue. For example, consuming cereals high in wheat fiber for two weeks reduced fatigue compared to the control in healthy adults [Fatigue is associated with a lack of sleep, an association that may be mediated by increased inflammation [In relation to sleep disturbances and anxiety/depression, there is limited evidence on the effects of beta-glucan on these symptoms in ME/CFS. Some studies have suggested that beta-glucan may have anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, but further research is required to support these claims and to determine its efficacy in this situation [Another preliminary study found that beta-glucan administration improved mood and vitality among HR-QoL measures in ME/CFS [These previous studies suggest that beta-glucans have potential beneficial effects in ME/CFS, including improving quality of life, reducing fatigue, decreasing anxiety/depression, and modulating the immune response. However, research on this topic is still ongoing, and more studies are needed to confirm and extend these findings, and also to determine the different sources, functionality (viscosity, fermentability, solubility, etc.), optimal doses, and duration of beta-glucan treatment that may affect physiological outcomes in ME/CFS.The current results provide consistent evidence linking increased beta-glucan intake to enhanced cognitive function in ME/CFS. The beneficial effect suggests that the relationship between gut microbiota alteration and cognitive impairment may be causal. In addition to highlighting the adverse impact of western diets on the gut–brain axis, the findings of this study suggest that enhanced consumption of beta-glucan-rich foods is an easily implementable nutritional strategy for attenuating the diet-induced cognitive decline in ME/CFS patients [