Fiber Intervention on Gut Microbiota in Children With Prader-Willi Syndrome

Plain-language summary

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the most common syndromic cause of obesity. Individuals with PWS characteristically experience excessive weight gain and severe hyperphagia with food compulsivity in early childhood, which often leads to the onset of obesity and metabolic complications. The pathogenesis of hyperphagia and progressive weight gain in PWS is far from being understood, and thus efficacious interventions are still under development. Emerging evidence indicates an important etiological contribution of dysbiotic gut microbiota in the hyperphagia, obesity and metabolic abnormalities associated with PWS, implicating a potentially effective target for appetite control and alleviation of obesity in PWS. This study aims to evaluate whether dietary fibers can improve hyperphagia and metabolic profile in children with PWS, and further will determine if these improvements correlate with dietary-fiber-induced changes of the gut microbiota. Twenty children with PWS (age 5-17 years) will receive 3-week fiber or placebo treatment and 3-week alternate treatment with a 4-week washout period in between. A validated PWS-specific hyperphagia questionnaire will be used to assess the severity of hyperphagia in participants. Fasting blood and fecal samples will be collected for the analyses of appetite-related hormones, metabolic biomarkers, bacterial composition and gut metabolites. This study should provide potential new approaches for effective non-pharmacologic treatment of excessive weight gain and hyperphagia associated with PWS to improve overall health and quality of life in affected patients.

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