Effect of Probiotics on Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (PRO-RRMS)

June 5, 2026 updated by: Foraysa Mohammed Talaat, Cairo University

Probiotics as a Promising Adjunct: Improving Fatigue, Quality of Life, Disability, Mood and Inflammatory Markers in Egyptian Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

This study aimed to assess the effect of probiotic supplementation on fatigue, quality of life, disability, depression and inflammatory markers in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Patients were randomized to receive probiotics plus standard therapy The study sought to determine whether modulation of gut microbiota could provide additional clinical and immunological benefits in RRMS management.

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

This trial was conducted as part of a Doctoral (PhD) thesis at the Department of Neurology, Cairo University

The purpose of the trial was to evaluate the potential effects of probiotic supplementation on clinical and biological outcomes in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory and demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, in which immune dysregulation and gut microbiota imbalance may play a key role.

Recent evidence suggests that probiotics could exert beneficial immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects, potentially improving patient outcomes.

In this randomized controlled study, patients with RRMS received either probiotic supplementation or standard therapy alone for a defined period.

The primary outcomes included changes in fatigue quality of life, disability and depressive symptoms Secondary outcomes included alterations in inflammatory biomarkers such as cytokines and other immune mediators.

The results of this study are expected to provide additional insights into the role of gut microbiota modulation as an adjunctive approach in the management of multiple sclerosis.

No major protocol deviations occurred, and the study adhered to ethical standards approved by the local ethics committee.

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 (Actual)

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.
60

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.
  • Not Applicable

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

  • Egypt
      • Cairo, Egypt
        • Faculty of Medicine

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Clinically definite MS patients with a diagnosis of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis according to revised McDonald criteria 2017.
  • EDSS score of ≤ 4

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Progressive MS either; primary progressive MS or secondary progressive MS
  • Patients who had relapses and glucocorticoid therapy within the past 30 days.
  • Pregnancy and women who were lactating within the prior six month
  • Patients taking antibiotics
  • History of gastroenteritis and bowel surgery over the past month, inflammatory bowel disease
  • Presence of diabetes (type I & type II) or diseases causing significant nutritional status impairment (malignancy, chronic infections)
  • Patients who have changed their disease modifying drugs in the past 6 months prior to study
  • Impaired cognition that limited ability to complete the questionnaires. Addiction to drugs or alcohol.

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: None (Open Label)

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.
Active Comparator: Probiotic Group
probiotic dietary supplements
Dietary supplement: Probiotic dietary supplement
The probiotic group only had regular daily probiotic intake in the form of 2 cups of yogurt rich in probiotics - each cup 105 gram containing 5 to 10 billion Colony forming unit (CFU)/mg of Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173 010, Bifidobacterium lactis DN 173 010, Bifidobacterium lactis CNCM 1-2494, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactococcus lactis and yeast tablets 400 mg one tablet per day for each patient each tablet containing 6 billion CFU/mg of probiotics Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces boulardii, along 3 months from the start of the study
Other Names:
  • yogurt
Placebo Comparator: Controlled group
standard treatment only
Other: Standard medical treatment
standard medical treatment

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
Number of patients with improving in fatigue
Time Frame: 3 months
changes in fatigue status using modified fatigue impact scale which range from 0 to 84 where high scores worse outcome
3 months

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Inflammatory biomarkers
Time Frame: 3 months
alterations in inflammatory biomarkers such as cytokines and other immune mediators
3 months

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.
Cairo University

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 (Actual)

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.
January 1, 2024

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.
September 1, 2024

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.
March 1, 2025

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).
December 25, 2025

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.
January 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

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.
January 16, 2026

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.
June 8, 2026

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.
June 5, 2026

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.
January 1, 2026

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.
  • MD-221-2023

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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