Tiny ingestible beads could help fight liver disease: study

By James Gamble via SWNS

Tiny ingestible carbon beads could help fight liver disease and keep our guts healthy, a new study has revealed.

The newly invented beads, each smaller than a grain of salt, were found to reduce bad bacteria and inflammation.

The beads also had a positive impact on liver, kidney and brain function.

The new treatment could potentially save the lives of those suffering from liver diseases.

There are estimated to be around 100 million people living with cirrhosis of the liver across the world, and a further 10 million have cirrhosis along with an additional complication.

Professor Rajiv Jalan from the UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health explained that the importance of the health of our guts is only now beginning to receive the attention it warrants.

"The influence of the gut microbiome on health is only just beginning to be fully appreciated," the study's senior author said.

"When the balance of the microbiome is upset, ‘bad’ bacteria can proliferate and out-compete the ‘good’ bacteria that keeps the gut healthy.

“One of the ways they do this is by excreting endotoxin, toxic metabolites and cytokines that transform the gut environment to make it more favorable to them and hostile to good bacteria.

"These substances, particularly endotoxin, can trigger gut inflammation and increase the leakiness of the gut wall, resulting in damage to other organs such as the liver, kidneys and brain.

“In cirrhosis, a condition characterized by scarring of the liver, it is known that inflammation caused by endotoxins can exacerbate liver damage.

"Part of the standard treatment for cirrhosis is antibiotics aimed at controlling bad bacteria, but this comes with the risk of antibiotic resistance and is only used in late-stage disease.”

Scientists at University College London and the University of Brighton, in collaboration with Yaqrit, a company specializing in liver disease treatment, developed tiny carbon beads with a special microscopic physical structure designed to adsorb both large and small molecules in the gut.

In their study published in the aptly-named journal Gut, the researchers tested the effectiveness of the carbon beads - known by the product name CARBALIVE - in restoring gut health.

They assessed the impact on liver, kidney and brain function in rats and mice and found that when ingested every day for several weeks, the beads were effective in preventing the progress of liver scarring and injury in animals with cirrhosis, and reduced mortality in animals with acute-on-chronic-liver-failure (ACLF).

Further tests on 28 cirrhosis patients proved the beads to be safe, with negligible side effects.

If the same benefits observed in animals occur in humans, experts say the beads could provide an important new tool to help tackle liver disease.

Michal Kowalski, a Vice President and the CARBALIVE product lead at Yaqrit, added: “These novel, engineered carbon beads, which are swallowed and pass through the body unaltered, are smaller than a grain of salt.

"They work by absorbing the endotoxins and other metabolites produced by ‘bad’ bacteria in the gut, creating a better environment for the good bacteria to flourish and helping to restore microbiome health.

"This prevents these toxins from leaching into other areas of the body and causing damage, as they do in cirrhosis.

“The results in animal models are very positive, with reduction in gut permeability, liver injury, as well as brain and kidney dysfunction.”

The study opens the door for further trials to test the effectiveness of the carbon beads in humans, one of which is due to begin soon.

If the beads are proven to be effective at halting or slowing the progression of liver damage, they could become an invaluable tool for treating liver disease and other conditions associated with poor microbiome health.

Professor Jalan, a Professor of Hepatology at UCL and consultant at the Royal Free Hospital, added: “I have high hopes that the positive impact of these carbon beads in animal models will be seen in humans, which is exciting not just for the treatment of liver disease but potentially any health condition that is caused or exacerbated by a gut microbiome that doesn’t work as it should.

"This might include conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, for example, which is on the rise in many countries.

“The study is another milestone in a journey that began at UCL and has evolved into our spin-out Yaqrit, thanks to grant funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

"This has allowed us to build a factory to manufacture the beads and enabled discovery research into their potential uses.

"I’m optimistic that this journey will end with these beads being approved to help treat liver disease and other conditions within the next few years.”