Study on the Effects of a Probiotic on Autonomic and Psychological Stress

October 17, 2017 updated by: McMaster University

A Double Blind Placebo Controlled Study on the Effects of a Probiotic on Autonomic and Psychological Stress Responses in Volunteers

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a probiotic blend on qualitative (subjective interviews and self-reporting) and quantitative (changes in brain activity, heart rate, cortisol, and reactivity) measures of stress in healthy undergraduate students.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

There is a burgeoning literature involving nonhuman animal and human studies linking the microbiota environment in the gut to brain-behaviour relations. For example, animal studies demonstrate that germ-free rodents show heightened HPA-axis responses to stress compared to gnotobiotic animals. There are also a number of nonhuman and human studies that show positive effects of reducing stress after being treated with different probiotics. For example, in one recent double blind study in humans using standardized questionnaires indicated a greater reduction of stress and anxiety symptoms after one month of supplementation with a probiotic formulation compared to placebo. The groups were also differentiated by urinary cortisol levels after treatment. Other studies have found positive effects of probiotic treatment and stress reduction using other probiotics. Accordingly, there is accumulating empirical evidence from animal and human studies of the positive effects of probiotic treatment on stress reduction.

In this study, the investigators will investigate the stress reduction effects of the Lallemand Health Solutions (LHS) Probio'Stick® on healthy undergraduate students. The study will be conducted at the McMaster LIVELab, which is capable of collecting both physiological and behavioural measures from groups of up to 100 participants at a time.

Registration into this clinical trial will require students be screened via McMaster's SONA system (mcmaster.sona-systems.com). After the screening, participants that are eligible to participate will be given the option to register for an information meeting at which point one may opt to enrol in the study or not.

Once in the study, participants will undergo an initial screening in the LIVELab where they will be exposed to auditory, visual, and performance based stressors to measure a baseline. After such point, they will be randomized to receive Probio'Stick® or placebo for a 6-week, once daily, probiotic treatment at home. Following the 6 week intervention, participants will return to the lab for a second testing using the same procedures to establish a change from baseline.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
128

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4L8
        • McMaster LIVELab

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Answering "Yes" to questions 3, 8 and 9 of the Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale.
  • Willingness to complete questionnaires, records, and diaries associated with the study and to complete all site visits.
  • Willingness to discontinue consumption of fermented foods or probiotics (e.g. yogurts, with live, active cultures, or supplements).
  • Ability to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Must not be currently taking another probiotic regiment or another investigational product within 3 months of the screening visit.
  • Must not currently be taking medications for depression or anxiety, including benzodiazepines, SSRIs, or antipsychotics or receiving counselling for depression or anxiety.
  • Must not be immune-compromised or immuno-suppressed (e.g. AIDS, lymphoma, participants undergoing long-term corticosteroid treatment, chemotherapy and allograft participants).
  • Must not have experienced bloody diarrhea in the past month prior to beginning the study.
  • Must not have undergone any surgery within the three months prior to beginning the study, particularly surgeries involving the colon.
  • Must not have any soy or milk allergy.
  • Must not be pregnant or breast-feeding or planning on becoming pregnant.
  • Must not have used of any antibiotic drug (e.g., neomycin, rifaximin) within 1 month of screening.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Probiotic
Participants will undergo the same study procedures as for the comparator; however, the product given will be the active probiotic supplement (ProbioStick).
Dietary supplement: ProbioStick

One sachet daily, without or without meals (3 x 10^9 CFU per sachet)

(Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum R0175)
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Participants will undergo the same study procedures as for the probiotic; however, the product given will be a placebo, identical to the probiotic in taste, smell, colour, and comprised only of the same non-active ingredients in the probiotic supplement
Other: Placebo
One sachet daily, without or without meals (0 CFU per sachet)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in right frontal electroencephalography (EEG)/brain activity
Time Frame: Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Is a measure of stress/arousal
Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Changes in salivary cortisol concentrations
Time Frame: Pre and Post Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Collected via Salivette®, before and after each session in the lab.
Pre and Post Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Change in the magnitude of startle response
Time Frame: Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Measured as facial electromyography (EMG) change
Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Changes in sympathetic nervous system activation
Time Frame: Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Calculated as a measure of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) from electrocardiography (ECG) data
Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Changes in Anxiety Scores as determined by the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
Time Frame: Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Changes in Stress Scores as determined by Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
Time Frame: Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Changes in General Affect Scores as determined by the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS)
Time Frame: Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Changes in Stress Scores as reported on a 1-10 Likert Scale
Time Frame: Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)
Visit 1 and Visit 2 (6 weeks apart)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
McMaster University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Lallemand Health Solutions

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Laurel Trainor, Ph.D., McMaster University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 7, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 10, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 15, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 19, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 17, 2017

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 20000229

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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