ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the effect of enteral nutrition on gut microbiota for ischemic stroke. Methods:From March to April, 2017, 121 patients with convalescent ischemic stroke were enrolled. The patients received routine rehabilitation combing with 1-week enteral nutrition. The patients' fresh feces and blood samples were obtained at admission, one week and one month after the enteral nutrition, while nutritional status was assessed with Nutrition Risk Screening (NRS2002). Cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -α, interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 were tested with ELISA. Ten patients were tested with 16S rDNA Illumina HiSeq/MiSeq for gut microbiota alterations. Results:The scores of NRS2002 decreased (P < 0.05), the level of serum IL-1β and IL-6 raised, while the level of IL-8 dropped one month after enteral nutrition (P < 0.05). In addition, the enteral nutrition altered the dominant bacterial community, and alleviated the diversity and species richness of bacteria, while the difference was statistically significant one week after enteral nutrition. Conclusion:Enteral nutrition can alter gut microbiota to facilitate to recover ischemic stroke.