From: mjs23x@gmail.com   
      
   Irritable Bowel Syndrome   
   Anxiety / Stress   
   GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology   
      
   Gut bacteria affect intestines and brain in IBS patients   
      
   MNT Knowledge Center   
   Written by Ana Sandoiu   
   Published: Thursday 2 March 2017   
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   Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most common gastrointestinal problems,   
   yet little is known about its causes. Treatment options focus on relieving the   
   symptoms - which often include anxious behavior - rather than curing the   
   illness. New research    
   may have found a connection between gut bacteria and behavior in IBS patients,   
   which could inform new treatments.   
   [gut bacteria under a magnifying glass]   
   New research suggests that the gut's microbiota may connect intestinal and   
   behavioral symptoms in patients with IBS.   
   Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder that affects   
   approximately 11 percent of the worldwide population. More women tend to be   
   afflicted with IBS than men.   
      
   Symptoms of the disease include intense abdominal pain, bloating,   
   constipation, or diarrhea. Often, patients also experience anxiety and   
   depression. No biomarker has yet been identified for IBS, so no investigation   
   can definitively say that somebody has    
   IBS. Rather, the disease is usually diagnosed clinically.   
      
   Treatment options include medication and changes in diet, with a focus on   
   eliminating so-called FODMAPS - a class of carbohydrates that are not easily   
   assimilated by the gut and can cause fermentation in the bowels. The   
   medication that is typically    
   prescribed include antispasmodics and laxatives, but the efficacy of these   
   therapies is limited, as the causes of IBS remain unknown.   
      
   A new study - carried out by researchers from the Farncombe Family Digestive   
   Health Research Institute at McMaster University in collaboration with   
   researchers from the University of Waterloo, both in Ontario, Canada - may   
   have found a link between gut    
   bacteria in people with IBS and their behavioral symptoms. The findings,   
   published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, may soon lead to new   
   treatment options for those living with IBS.   
      
   The new research, led by Dr. Premysl Bercik and Dr. Stephen Collins, set out   
   to investigate whether fecal microbiota from humans with IBS can alter the gut   
   and brain function in mice.   
      
   Gut bacteria from human IBS patients transfers symptoms onto mice   
   For their study, the researchers used healthy, IBS-free individuals, as well   
   as two groups of patients with IBS: one group that also had anxiety and   
   another that did not. Using fecal transplants, they transferred the microbiota   
   from these humans into    
   germ-free mice.   
      
   After the transplant, the mice developed gastrointestinal and behavioral   
   symptoms similar to those of their donors. The mice experienced    
   astrointestinal transit dysfunction (changes in the time it takes for food to   
   travel from the stomach through the    
   intestine), intestinal barrier dysfunction (in which the gastrointestinal   
   tract does not provide a tight barrier against external, harmful bacteria as   
   it normally would), inflammation, and behavior indicative of anxiety.   
      
   A research associate with the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research   
   Institute and the study's first author, Giada De Palma, explains the   
   significance of the findings:   
      
   "This is a landmark study because it moves the field beyond a simple   
   association, and towards evidence that changes in the microbiota impact both   
   intestinal and behavioral responses in IBS."   
      
   Dr. Premysl Bercik, the study's lead author and associate professor of   
   medicine at McMaster University, also weighs in:   
      
   "Our findings provide the basis for developing therapies aimed at the   
   intestinal microbiota, and for finding biomarkers for the diagnosis of IBS,"   
   Bercik says.   
      
   The authors note that their findings may provide new opportunities for   
   treatment development. "Microbiota-directed therapies, including pre- or   
   probiotic treatment, may be beneficial in treating not only intestinal   
   symptoms but also components of the    
   behavioral manifestations of IBS," they conclude.   
      
   According to the authors, the results of their study also add to the mounting   
   evidence that the gut's microbiota can affect the brain and a range of mental   
   disorders. "The intestinal microbiota may play some role in the spectrum of   
   brain disorders    
   ranging from mood or anxiety to other problems that may include autism,   
   Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis," write Bercik and colleagues.   
      
   However, the authors concede that more studies are needed to fully clarify the   
   connection between these conditions.   
      
   Learn how low vitamin D levels may be associated with IBS.   
      
   Written by Ana Sandoiu   
      
      
   http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316165.php   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)