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Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Functional Assessment of Intestinal Permeability and Neutrophil Transepithelial Migration in Mice using a Standardized Intestinal Loop Model
Published on: February 11, 2021
Intestinal permeability in leukemic patients prior to chemotherapy
Juliana Brovini Leite1, Eduardo Garcia Vilela1, Henrique Oswaldo da Gama Torres1
1Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to evaluate the intestinal barrier function in leukemia patients before the start of the chemotherapy with an intestinal permeability test using lactulose and mannitol as markers.
Methods:
The study enrolled 20 patients diagnosed with leukemia (acute and chronic). Ten healthy volunteers were also submitted to the test as a control group.
Results:
The median lactulose/mannitol ratio was 0.019 for the Leukemia Patient Group, whereas in healthy controls the median was 0.009 (p-value=0.244). The median lactulose/mannitol ratio in acute leukemia patients was 0.034 giving a p-value of 0.069 when compared to healthy controls. This same comparison was made between acute myeloid leukemia patients and healthy controls with a p-value of 0.149. There was no significant difference in the intestinal permeability between acute and chronic leukemia patients (p-value=0.098).
Conclusion:
The intestinal barrier function measured using the intestinal permeability test was similar in leukemic patients overall and healthy controls, but a tendency toward a different pattern was found in the intestinal barrier function of acute leukemia patients.
