Efficacy of probiotic supplements in improving the symptoms of psychosis, anxiety, insomnia, and anorexia due to amphetamine and methamphetamine use: a randomized clinical trial

Rationale Changes in the density and diversity of gut microbiota in chronic use of methamphetamine have been mentioned as contributors to psychotic and anxiety symptoms, sleep problems, and loss of appetite. Objective In this placebo-controlled clinical trial, we investigated the effect of the probiotic Lactobacillus Acidophilus in improving psychiatric symptoms among hospitalized patients with chronic methamphetamine use along with psychotic symptoms. Methods60 inpatients with a history of more than 3 years of methamphetamine use, were randomly assigned to one of two groups receiving either a probiotic capsule or placebo along with risperidone for 8 weeks based on a simple randomization method. In weeks 0, 4, and 8, patients were evaluated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Simple Appetite Nutritional Questionnaire (SANQ), and Body Mass Index (BMI). Results Compared to the control group, patients receiving probiotics had better sleep quality, greater appetite, and higher body mass index (there were significant interaction effects of group and time at Week 8 in these variables (t = -3.32, B = -1.83, p = .001, d = 0.89), (t = 10.50, B = 2.65, p <.001, d = 1.25) and (t = 3.40, B = 0.76, p <.001, d = 0.30), respectively. In terms of the improvement of psychotic and anxiety symptoms, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions The use of probiotics was associated with improved sleep quality, increased appetite, and increased body mass index in patients with chronic methamphetamine use. Conducting more definitive clinical trials with larger sample sizes and longer-term follow-up of cases is recommended.