Irritable Bowel Syndrome Linked With Lower Gut Bacterial Diversity

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) can be triggered by disruptions in the microbiome present in the human gastrointestinal tract.

Highlights:

The human intestine is home to around 10,000 different types of microorganisms
Disruptions in the human gastrointestinal tract’s microbiome can cause irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
In IBS patients, the gut bacterial flora is less diversified than in healthy people

According to a team of Korean researchers, patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have reduced bacterial diversity in the colon than healthy people. The researchers believe theirs is the first study to establish a clear link between IBS and decreased diversity in gut flora. The findings were published in Microbiology Spectrum, an open-access publication published by the American Society for Microbiology.

“Normally, more than 10,000 species of microorganism live in the human intestine,” said corresponding author Jung Ok Shim, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) causes recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort and a fluctuating disturbance in defecation. IBS is not life threatening.

‘Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have reduced bacterial diversity in the colon than healthy people. The researchers believe theirs is the first study to establish a clear link between IBS and decreased diversity in gut flora.’

What Triggers Irritable Bowel Syndrome

IBS can be triggered by disruptions in the human gastrointestinal tract’s microbiome. Bloating, diarrhea and stomach pain or cramps are common symptoms of IBS.

Previous studies of gut flora in IBS patients have been controversial, with contradictory results due to small sample sizes and a lack of uniform analytical methodologies, according to Shim. The researchers analyzed 576 IBS patients and 487 healthy controls using a ‘unified data processing and analytical strategy’ after combining their dataset with 9 existing, shareable datasets.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Diagnosed by Listening to Gut Noises
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) can now be diagnosed by a machine learning-based acoustic belt that distinguishes gut noises between IBS and healthy patients.

Is Gut Bacteria Linked with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

According to Shim, the researchers discovered that the gut bacterial community is less varied in IBS patients than in healthy people. Furthermore, the prevalence of 21 bacterial species varied between IBS patients and healthy controls. However, due to the limited sample size, the findings in the pediatric group were not statistically significant.

The researchers proved that the disturbed gut bacteria “is associated with IBS, though this does not mean that the relationship is causal,” said Shim. “Functional studies are needed to prove whether the change in gut micro-organisms contributes to the development of IBS.”

April is Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month
April has been marked as the awareness month for Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS to spread more knowledge about the condition.

What Causes Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Even though IBS is a common disorder, its pathogenesis remains unknown, and yet there is no effective treatment strategy. “Based on the epidemiological studies of IBS patients, altered gut microbiota was proposed as one of the possible causes of IBS,” the researchers write. “Acute bacterial gastroenteritis can cause chronic, asymptomatic, low-grade intestinal wall inflammation sufficient to alter neuromuscular and epithelial cell function.”

Source-Medindia

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month
The Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Awareness month is observed in April to increase awareness about the common bowel problem.