Hypouricaemic effects of yoghurt containing Lactobacillus gasseri PA-3 in patients with hyperuricaemia and/or gout: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

PURPOSE: Lactobacillus gasseri PA-3 (PA-3) has been previously shown to decrease serum uric acid (SUA) levels in subjects with increased SUA. In this study, we investigated whether PA-3 is also capable of decreasing SUA levels in patients with hyperuricaemia and/or gout.

METHODS: Twenty-five patients with hyperuricaemia and/or gout completed this study. Urate-lowering drugs were discontinued for 12 weeks (week -4 to week 8). After flushing of urate-lowering drugs for 4 weeks (week 0), patients were randomised equally to receive diets containing yoghurt beverages with PA-3 or without PA-3 for a duration of 8 weeks (week 8). The intention to treat (ITT) population included all subjects who were randomised, and the per-protocol (PP) population included subjects who completed the experiment with compliance. We evaluated SUA levels at the end of the study as well as changes in SUA levels in comparison to week 0.

RESULTS: In both ITT and PP analyses, there were no significant differences in SUA levels or in the changes in SUA levels compared to week 0 between the two groups. However, in a sub-population whose SUA levels at week 0 were within one SD of the mean of the whole PP population, changes in SUA levels in the group consuming PA-3-containing yoghurt were significantly lower than those of the control group (p = .0378).

CONCLUSION: PA-3-containing yoghurt improves SUA levels, even in patients with hyperuricaemia and/or gout.