Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2022 Oct;66:102284. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2022.102284.Epub 2022 Sep 5.

Joost P Algera ¹, Hans Törnblom ², Magnus Simrén ³

Author information

¹Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: joost.algera@gu.se.

²Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.

³Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of gut-brain interaction affecting 4% of the world's population. Patients with IBS experience chronic or recurrent abdominal pain in combination with altered bowel habits (diarrhea and/or constipation), and have reduced quality of life. Despite the high prevalence and substantial burden of IBS, its pathophysiology is incompletely understood and remains to be elucidated. The importance of the gut microenvironment has been highlighted in IBS, as there are signs that the gut microbiota of patients differs from healthy controls. Recent studies have aimed to alter the gut microbiota and thereby, attempted to alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms in IBS patients. We highlighted recent advances in common treatments that are targeting the luminal gut microbiota in IBS.