Profile of gut microbiota in patients with traumatic thoracic spinal cord injury and its clinical implications: a case-control study in a rehabilitation setting

BIOENGINEERED, 2021 · DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2021.1955543 · Published: January 1, 2021

Simple Explanation

This study investigates the gut microbiota of patients with traumatic thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI) and its relation to bowel function and serum biomarkers. The study compares the gut microbiota composition of patients with complete SCI (CTSCI), incomplete SCI (ITSCI), and healthy individuals (HC). The findings suggest that gut dysbiosis is more pronounced in CTSCI patients compared to ITSCI patients, indicating a potential link between gut microbiota and the severity of SCI.

Study Duration

April 2019 to August 2019

Participants

21 patients with complete thoracic SCI, 24 with incomplete thoracic SCI, and 24 healthy individuals

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Diversity of the gut microbiota in SCI group was reduced, and with an increase in the degree of damage, alpha diversity had decreased gradually.
2
The composition of gut microbiota in patients with SCI was distinct from that in healthy individuals, and CTSCI group exhibited further deviation than ITSCI group compared to healthy individuals.
3
Four serum biomarkers were found to be correlated with most differential genera.

Research Summary

The study aimed to identify common gut microbiota features between patients with varying degrees of thoracic SCI and healthy individuals, and to find subpopulations of microbiota correlated with serum biomarkers. The study found that the diversity of gut microbiota was reduced in SCI patients, with a gradual decrease in alpha diversity as the degree of damage increased. The composition of gut microbiota in SCI patients differed from healthy individuals. The study concludes that patients with thoracic SCI exhibit gut dysbiosis, which is more pronounced in CTSCI than in ITSCI, suggesting that the gut microbiota profile may serve as signatures for bowel and motor functions.

Practical Implications

Biomarker Identification

The gut microbiota profile can potentially serve as a biomarker for bowel and motor functions in patients with thoracic SCI, aiding in diagnosis and prognosis.

Therapeutic Targets

The identified differences in gut microbiota composition between CTSCI and ITSCI patients can be used as therapeutic targets for varying degrees of SCI, potentially improving bowel function and overall recovery.

Personalized Rehabilitation

Profiling gut microbiota could help in developing personalized rehabilitation strategies for SCI patients, tailored to their specific gut microbiome composition and functional recovery potential.

Study Limitations

1
The study only focused on the gut microbiota in patients with thoracic SCI.
2
No follow-up information was obtained to delineate the temporal relationship between the gut microbiota and functioning of patients with SCI.
3
The lack of functional experiments in animal models is considered as a major limitation

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