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. 2022 Jan-Dec:18:17448069221075345.
doi: 10.1177/17448069221075345.

Probiotics attenuate alcohol-induced muscle mechanical hyperalgesia: Preliminary observations

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Probiotics attenuate alcohol-induced muscle mechanical hyperalgesia: Preliminary observations

Paul G Green et al. Mol Pain. 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major health problem that causes millions of deaths annually world-wide. AUD is considered to be a chronic pain disorder, that is exacerbated by alcohol withdrawal, contributing to a high (∼80%) relapse rate. Chronic alcohol consumption has a marked impact on the gut microbiome, recognized to have a significant effect on chronic pain. We tested the hypothesis that modulating gut microbiota through feeding rats with probiotics can attenuate alcohol-induced muscle mechanical hyperalgesia. To test this hypothesis, rats were fed alcohol (6.5%, 4 days on 3 days off) for 3 weeks, which induced skeletal muscle mechanical hyperalgesia. Following alcohol feeding, at which time nociceptive thresholds were ∼37% below pre-alcohol levels, rats received probiotics in their drinking water, either Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG (Culturelle) or De Simone Formulation (a mixture of 8 bacterial species) for 8 days; control rats received plain water to drink. When muscle mechanical nociceptive threshold was evaluated 1 day after beginning probiotic feeding, nociceptive thresholds were significantly higher than rats not receiving probiotics. Mechanical nociceptive thresholds continued to increase during probiotic feeding, with thresholds approaching pre-alcohol levels 5 days after starting probiotics; nociceptive threshold in rats not receiving probiotics remained low. After probiotics were removed from the drinking water, nociceptive thresholds gradually decreased in these two groups, although they remained higher than the group not treated with probiotic (21 days after ending alcohol feeding). These observations suggest that modification of gut microbiota through probiotic feeding has a marked effect on chronic alcohol-induced muscle mechanical hyperalgesia. Our results suggest that administration of probiotics to individuals with AUD may reduce pain associated with alcohol consumption and withdrawal, and may be a novel therapeutic intervention to reduce the high rate of relapse seen in individuals with AUD attempting to abstain from alcohol.

Keywords: Ethanol; microbiome; muscle pain; myalgia; nociceptors; probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Administration of DSF or L. rhamnosus attenuates chronic alcohol-induced muscle mechanical hyperalgesia. Time course of muscle mechanical hyperalgesia induced by chronic alcohol consumption, shows that rats receiving three cycles of ethanol diet (4 days on, 3 days off) produces robust mechanical hyperalgesia by day 21 (nociceptive threshold was ∼37% lower compared to pre-alcohol feeding). After alcohol feeding, rats were divided into three groups, receiving water alone (control), or DSF and L. rhamnosus in their drinking water, beginning on day 22. The two-way repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant group × time interaction (F20,150 = 33.83; P < 0.0001) and a significant main effect of group (F2,15 = 66.16; P < 0.0001), indicating that the groups differed significantly in both time course and magnitude. Tukey’s multiple comparison showed significant differences between control and DSF, and between control and L. rhamnosus, for all time points, beginning on day 23 (1 day after probiotic feeding), and continuing through last time point measured (day 42).

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