Rifaximin ameliorates hepatic encephalopathy and endotoxemia without affecting the gut microbiome diversity

AIM To determine the efficacy of rifaximin for hepatic encephalopathy (HE) with the linkage of gut microbiome in decompensated cirrhotic patients. METHODS Twenty patients (12 men and 8 women; median age, 66.8 years; range, 46-81 years) with decompensated cirrhosis (Child-pugh score > 7) underwent cognitive neuropsychological testing, endotoxin analysis, and fecal microbiome assessment at baseline and after 4 wk of treatment with rifaximin 400 mg thrice a day. HE was determined by serum ammonia level and number connection test (NCT)-A. Changes in whole blood endotoxin activity (EA) was analyzed by endotoxin activity assay. Fecal microbiome was assessed by 16S ribosome RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. RESULTS Treatment with rifaximin for 4 wk improved hyperammonemia (from 90.6 ± 23.9 μg/dL to 73.1 ± 33.1 μg/dL; P < 0.05) and time required for NCT (from 68.2 ± 17.4 s to 54.9 ± 20.3 s; P < 0.05) in patients who had higher levels at baseline. Endotoxin activity was reduced (from 0.43 ± 0.03 to 0.32 ± 0.09; P < 0.05) in direct correlation with decrease in serum ammonia levels (r = 0.5886, P < 0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed in the diversity estimator (Shannon diversity index) and major components of the gut microbiome between the baseline and after treatment groups (3.948 ± 0.548 at baseline vs 3.980 ± 0.968 after treatment; P = 0.544), but the relative abundances of genus Veillonella and Streptococcus were lowered. CONCLUSION Rifaximin significantly improved cognition and reduced endotoxin activity without significantly affecting the composition of the gut microbiome in patients with decompensated cirrhosis.