Figures & data
Table I. Clinical and demographic data in cirrhotic patients randomized to group A (synbiotic treatment) and group B (placebo treatment) and healthy controls.
Table II. Oligonucleotide primers used for real-time PCR analysis.
Figure 1. Viable faecal counts of Lactobacillus species measured pre- and post-treatment with synbiotics (left) or placebo (right). Synbiotic, but not placebo, treatment was associated with a significant increase in viable faecal counts of Lactobacillus species.
![Figure 1. Viable faecal counts of Lactobacillus species measured pre- and post-treatment with synbiotics (left) or placebo (right). Synbiotic, but not placebo, treatment was associated with a significant increase in viable faecal counts of Lactobacillus species.](/cms/asset/64aee82c-482c-47ac-83c8-0914c4eddbf1/zmeh_a_217795_f0001_b.gif)
Figure 2. Indocyanine green (ICG) clearance, expressed as the percentage plasma retention rate 15 min after a test dose of ICG of 0.5 mg/kg lean body weight (ICGR15), measured pre- and post-treatment with synbiotics (left) or placebo (right). Synbiotic, but not placebo, treatment was associated with a significant improvement in ICGR15.
![Figure 2. Indocyanine green (ICG) clearance, expressed as the percentage plasma retention rate 15 min after a test dose of ICG of 0.5 mg/kg lean body weight (ICGR15), measured pre- and post-treatment with synbiotics (left) or placebo (right). Synbiotic, but not placebo, treatment was associated with a significant improvement in ICGR15.](/cms/asset/758d1dab-ee06-4df3-997f-b7add5442a0e/zmeh_a_217795_f0002_b.gif)
Figure 3. Serum concentrations of bilirubin (a) and albumin (b) and prothrombin time, as expressed by the international normalized ratio (INR) (c), in initially Child-Pugh class B and C patients (n=9) pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values of each parameter were increased significantly compared with corresponding baseline values.
![Figure 3. Serum concentrations of bilirubin (a) and albumin (b) and prothrombin time, as expressed by the international normalized ratio (INR) (c), in initially Child-Pugh class B and C patients (n=9) pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values of each parameter were increased significantly compared with corresponding baseline values.](/cms/asset/2d734ab8-5af2-4713-80f2-2d8ac362f47e/zmeh_a_217795_f0003_b.gif)
Figure 4. Whole blood TNF-α mRNA levels pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values were significantly increased compared with corresponding baseline levels. *Ratio to maximum value resulting from in vitro stimulation of PBMCs by endotoxin (10 µg/ml for 20 h).
![Figure 4. Whole blood TNF-α mRNA levels pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values were significantly increased compared with corresponding baseline levels. *Ratio to maximum value resulting from in vitro stimulation of PBMCs by endotoxin (10 µg/ml for 20 h).](/cms/asset/1f920820-caac-419e-94a0-e4bb69c81014/zmeh_a_217795_f0004_b.gif)
Figure 5. Whole blood IL-6 mRNA levels pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values were significantly increased compared with corresponding baseline levels. *Ratio to maximum value resulting from in vitro stimulation of PBMCs by endotoxin (10 µg/ml for 20 h).
![Figure 5. Whole blood IL-6 mRNA levels pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values were significantly increased compared with corresponding baseline levels. *Ratio to maximum value resulting from in vitro stimulation of PBMCs by endotoxin (10 µg/ml for 20 h).](/cms/asset/1ff865ba-abf9-4dda-9799-936a624b2f2b/zmeh_a_217795_f0005_b.gif)
Figure 6. Serum sTNFRI levels pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values were significantly increased compared with corresponding baseline levels.
![Figure 6. Serum sTNFRI levels pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values were significantly increased compared with corresponding baseline levels.](/cms/asset/47f60a2d-934a-4eed-8355-6a36bce1ba63/zmeh_a_217795_f0006_b.gif)
Figure 7. Serum sTNFRII levels pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values were significantly increased compared with corresponding baseline levels.
![Figure 7. Serum sTNFRII levels pre- and post-synbiotic treatment. Post-treatment values were significantly increased compared with corresponding baseline levels.](/cms/asset/208bd879-2f2a-479e-867b-b027e3938473/zmeh_a_217795_f0007_b.gif)
Table III. Correlations between degrees of improvement in ICGR15 and other study parameters, expressed as percentage increase or decrease compared to baseline values, in synbiotic-treated patients.
Table IV. Correlations between circulating cytokine levels in patients randomized to synbiotic treatment.