A Chinese pilot study explored the microbiota characteristics in encephalitis patients

This study was a prospective observational study conducted in an academic hospital in Guangzhou from February 2017 to February 2018, aimed to investigate whether microbiota affect the encephalitis. The feces and serum of patients with encephalitis were collected and analyzed, compared to those of age- and gender-matched healthy donors. The microbiota composition, concentration of short-chain fatty acids, and the level of intestinal integrity biomarkers were evaluated respectively. The results showed the dysbiosis of microbiota in the patient group, manifested as pathogen dominance and health-promoting commensal depletion. The correlation analyses further suggested the disease severity and brain damage might have associations with the gut microbiota or its metabolites.