Trial reportThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2021
Probiotic Supplementation Improves Cognitive Function and Mood with Changes in Gut Microbiota in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Trial.
Trial report in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06860581 (The Impact of Dietary Supplementation With Lactobacillus Helveticus and Bifidobacterium Longum on the Functioning of the Brain-gut Axis, in the Context of Mental Health, Eating Patterns and Nutritional Status of Young Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 250 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Impact of Dietary Supplementation With Lactobacillus Helveticus and Bifidobacterium Longum on the Functioning of the Brain-gut Axis, in the Context of Mental Health, Eating Patterns and Nutritional Status of Young Adults
Who cites it
250 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 498 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of probiotic supplementation on the gut microbiota diversity in healthy populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.BMC medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The correlation and gut microbial characteristics in the whole spectrum of Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of milk and dairy intake on cognitive function in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging · 2026Pooled it
- Role of Probiotics in Management of Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Depression: An Updated Analysis of Trials.Brain and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of probiotic supplements on cognitive function: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of probiotic supplementation on serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor: GRADE-based dose-response meta-analysis.BMC nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of Dietary Patterns on Migraine Management: Mechanisms of Action and Recent Literature Insights.Brain and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- The Impact of Egg Consumption on Gastrointestinal Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Factors affecting dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in the elderly and the progress of interventions in traditional Chinese and Western medicine.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- The Effect of Whole-Diet Interventions on Memory and Cognitive Function in Healthy Older Adults - A Systematic Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of electroacupuncture on postoperative cognitive dysfunction and its underlying mechanisms: a literature review of rodent studies.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- From gut to brain: unveiling probiotic effects through a neuroimaging perspective-A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Impact of probiotic on anxiety and depression symptoms in pregnant and lactating women and microbiota of infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of global health · 2023Pooled it
- Probiotics for the treatment of depression and its comorbidities: A systemic review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Pooled it
- The current state of research for psychobiotics use in the management of psychiatric disorders-A systematic literature review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Involvement of Intestinal Microbiota in Adult Neurogenesis and the Expression of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of Adjunct PRObiotics as Compared to the Standard Care in Moderate Unipolar Depression Among Geriatric Patients: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Pilot Multi-Center Trial (PRODG).Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Trial
- Gut Microbiota Changes Following Short-Term Probiotic Supplementation in Older Home Enteral Nutrition Patients.Nutrients · 2026Trial
- Trial
190 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Probiotics have been proposed to ameliorate cognitive impairment and depressive disorder via the gut-brain axis in patients and experimental animal models. However, the beneficial role of probiotics in brain functions of healthy older adults remains unclear. Therefore, a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled multicenter trial was conducted to determine the effects of probiotics on cognition and mood in community-dwelling older adults. Sixty-three healthy elders (≥65 years) consumed either placebo or probiotics containing Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4 and Bifidobacterium longum BORI for 12 weeks. The gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing and bioinformatics. Brain functions were measured using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease, Satisfaction with life scale, stress questionnaire, Geriatric depression scale, and Positive affect and negative affect schedule. Blood brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Relative abundance of inflammation-causing gut bacteria was significantly reduced at Week 12 in the probiotics group (p < .05). The probiotics group showed greater improvement in mental flexibility test and stress score than the placebo group (p < .05). Contrary to placebo, probiotics significantly increased serum BDNF level (p < .05). Notably, the gut microbes significantly shifted by probiotics (Eubacterium and Clostridiales) showed significant negative correlation with serum BDNF level only in the probiotics group (RS = -0.37, RS = -0.39, p < .05). In conclusion, probiotics promote mental flexibility and alleviate stress in healthy older adults, along with causing changes in gut microbiota. These results provide evidence supporting health-promoting properties of probiotics as a part of healthy diet in the older adults.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.