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Decompensated cirrhosis is characterized by disturbed hemodynamics, immune dysfunction, and high risk of infections. Translocation of viable bacteria and bacterial products from the gut to the blood is considered a key driver in this process. Intestinal decontamination with rifaximin may reduce bacterial translocation (BT) and decrease inflammation. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effects of rifaximin on inflammation and BT in decompensated cirrhosis.Fifty-four out-patients with cirrhosis and ascites were randomized, mean age 56 years (± 8.4), and model for end-stage liver disease score 12 (± 3.9). Patients received rifaximin 550-mg BD (n = 36) or placebo BD (n = 18). Blood and fecal (n = 15) sampling were conducted at baseline and after 4 weeks. Bacterial DNA in blood was determined by real-time qPCR 16S rRNA gene quantification. Bacterial composition in feces was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Circulating markers of inflammation, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukins 6, 10, and 18, stromal cell-derived factor 1-α, transforming growth factor β-1, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein, were unaltered by rifaximin treatment. Rifaximin altered abundance of bacterial taxa in blood marginally, only a decrease in Pseudomonadales was observed. In feces, rifaximin decreased bacterial richness, but effect on particular species was not observed. Subgroup analyses on patients with severely disturbed hemodynamics (n = 34) or activated lipopolysaccharide binding protein (n = 37) revealed no effect of rifaximin.Four weeks of treatment with rifaximin had no impact on the inflammatory state and only minor effects on BT and intestinal bacterial composition in stable, decompensated cirrhosis (NCT01769040).

Recently, it has been proposed, that the blood pressure (BP) lowering effect of gastric bypass surgery not only is explained by the obtained weight loss, but that the anatomical rearrangement of the gut after ‘malabsorptive’ surgical techniques, such as the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB), may affect BP through a change in a putative 'entero-renal' axis. If so one could anticipate a reduction in BP even before a noticeable weight loss was obtained. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the very early BP response to LRYGB surgery. Ten severely obese hypertensive (mean BMI 40.8 kg/m2) and 10 severely obese normotensive (mean BMI 41.7 kg/m2) patients underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure measurements (24 h ABPMs) before LRYGB and again day 1 and day 10 after LRYGB. No change in 24 h BP was observed day 1 after LRYGB. Day 10 after surgery both hypertensive and normotensive patients demonstrated a significant 12.6 mmHg and 9.5 reduction in systolic BP (SBP), respectively....