Role of Bacillus coagulans (Heyndrickxia coagulans)BCP92 in managing irritable bowel syndrome: A randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a major global healthcare burden that requires effective and well-tolerated intervention. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of Bacillus coagulans BCP92, a probiotic, in managing IBS symptoms. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial included 100 participants who strictly adhered to the protocol. Various parameters such as IBS severity, digestive symptom frequency, gastrointestinal symptom frequency, stool consistency, interleukin-6 levels, stress relief, and anxiety levels were evaluated over 12 weeks. RESULTS: B. coagulans BCP92 significantly improved IBS severity (P < .001), and gastrointestinal symptom frequency (P < .001) compared with that in the control group. The stool consistency significantly improved (P < .001). Mental stress relief was remarkable (P = .001), differentiating the test and control groups. No significant change in interleukin-6 levels was observed; however, the safety assessment revealed an excellent profile with no reported severe adverse events. CONCLUSION: B. coagulans BCP92 is one of the most promising therapeutic options for the management of IBS because it has shown significant efficacy in alleviating symptoms among patients suffering from this condition, resulting in improved stool consistency changes in addition to improving overall mental well-being for its users, thereby foreseeing the elimination of any potential side effects experienced during the implementation of this approach strategy within our health care system, thereby improving patient outcomes and leading to individualization of treatment plans among all individuals diagnosed with this disease entity who may have symptoms, including abdominal pain or discomfort associated with changes in bowel habits.

Decoding IBS: a machine learning approach to psychological distress and gut-brain interaction.

PURPOSE: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a diagnosis defined by gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms like abdominal pain and changes associated with defecation. The condition is classified as a disorder of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI), and patients with IBS commonly experience psychological distress. The present study focuses on this distress, defined from reports of fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and performance on cognitive tests. The aim was to investigate the joint contribution of these features of psychological distress in predicting IBS versus healthy controls (HCs) and to disentangle clinically meaningful subgroups of IBS patients. METHODS: IBS patients ( n = 49 ) and HCs ( n = 28 ) completed the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ), the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Bergen Insomnia Scale (BIS), and performed tests of memory function and attention from the Repeatable Battery Assessing Neuropsychological Symptoms (RBANS). An initial exploratory data analysis was followed by supervised (Random Forest) and unsupervised (K-means) classification procedures. RESULTS: The explorative data analysis showed that the group of IBS patients obtained significantly more severe scores than HCs on all included measures, with the strongest pairwise correlation between fatigue and a quality measure of sleep disturbances. The supervised classification model correctly predicted belongings to the IBS group in 80% of the cases in a test set of unseen data. Two methods for calculating feature importance in the test set gave mental and physical fatigue and anxiety the strongest weights. An unsupervised procedure with K = 3 showed that one cluster contained 24% of the patients and all but two HCs. In the two other clusters, their IBS members were overall more impaired, with the following differences. One of the two clusters showed more severe cognitive problems and anxiety symptoms than the other, which experienced more severe problems related to the quality of sleep and fatigue. The three clusters were not different on a severity measure of IBS and age. CONCLUSION: The results showed that psychological distress is an integral component of IBS symptomatology. The study should inspire future longitudinal studies to further dissect clinical patterns of IBS to improve the assessment and personalized treatment for this and other patient groups defined as disorders of the gut-brain interaction. The project is registered at https://classic. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/ct2/show/NCT04296552 20/05/2019.

Dietary habits as associated factors with irritable bowel syndrome among medical students: evidence from a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Research on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) among medical students has increased globally, highlighting a high prevalence in this demographic. However, there is a lack of data specifically regarding the prevalence of IBS among medical students in Yemen. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of IBS among Yemeni medical students. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving medical students who completed a validated self-administered questionnaire incorporating socio-demographic information, dietary habits, smoking status, sleep patterns, and the Rome IV criteria for IBS. We used bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models to identify IBS's associated factors, estimated as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and average marginal effect (AME) on the predicted probability of IBS. RESULTS: The study included 351 medical students with a mean age of 22.53 ± 2.70 years; 39.60% (139) were females. The prevalence of IBS was 26.21% (92 students), with 67.39% (62) of them classified as IBS-M (mixed). In multivariable analysis, the consumption of carbonated soft drinks remained significantly associated with IBS (OR: 3.35; 95% CI: 1.14-9.88; P = 0.028). In males, coffee consumption had a substantial effect on the predicted probability of IBS (AME: 11.41%; 95% CI: 0.32-22.60). In females, the consumption of carbonated soft drinks had a significant effect on the predicted probability of IBS (AME: 24.91%; 95% CI: 8.34-41.48). CONCLUSION: The consumption of carbonated soft drinks is significantly associated with IBS among medical students, with a particularly notable increase in the predicted probability of IBS in females. These findings highlight the necessity for gender-specific dietary recommendations in IBS management. Further research is essential to investigate IBS in the general population to gain a comprehensive understanding of its prevalence and associated factors.

Low dose rifaximin combined with N-acetylcysteine is superior to rifaximin alone in a rat model of IBS-D: a randomized trial.

Rifaximin is FDA-approved for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D), but poor solubility may limit its efficacy against microbes in the mucus layer, e.g. Escherichia coli. Here we evaluate adding the mucolytic N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to improve rifaximin efficacy. In a resazurin checkerboard assay, combining rifaximin with NAC had significant synergistic effects in reducing E. coli levels. The optimal rifaximin + NAC combination was then tested in a validated rat model of IBS-D (induced by cytolethal distending toxin [CdtB] inoculation). Rats were inoculated with vehicle and treated with placebo (Control-PBS) or rifaximin + NAC (Control-Rif + NAC, safety), or inoculated with CdtB and treated with placebo (CdtB-PBS), rifaximin (CdtB-Rifaximin), or rifaximin + NAC (CdtB-Rif + NAC) for 10 days. CdtB-inoculated rats (CdtB-PBS) developed wide variability in stool consistency (P = 0.0014) vs. controls (Control-PBS). Stool variability normalized in rats treated with rifaximin + NAC (CdtB-Rif + NAC) but not rifaximin alone (CdtB-Rifaximin). Small bowel bacterial levels were elevated in CdtB-PBS rats but normalized in CdtB-Rif + NAC but not CdtB-Rifaximin rats. E. coli and Desulfovibrio spp levels (each associated with different IBS-D microtypes) were also elevated in CdtB-inoculated (CdtB-PBS) but normalized in CdtB-Rif + NAC rats. Cytokine levels normalized only in CdtB-Rif + NAC rats, in a manner predicted to be associated with reduced diarrhea driven by reduced E. coli. These findings suggest that combining rifaximin with NAC may improve the percentage of IBS-D patients responding to treatment.

Functional Bowel Disorder Management in Routine Practice with Tips for Hot Topics: Expert Opinion Review.

Functional gastrointestinal system disorders are common problems in practice. The most common symptoms are abdominal pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and a mixture of these, and similar symptoms can be seen in conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and celiac disease depending on the age of the patient, indicating the importance of differential diagnosis. The importance of patient management is shown by making a symptom-based diagnosis and making cost-effective, that is, limited advanced examinations. The pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is multifactorial, and stress is one of the leading triggers of IBS symptoms. Therefore, terminology will change to gut-brain interaction disorders in the future, and the patient-physician relationship has a special place in the treatment of functional bowel disorder. Dietary recommendation and medical treatment in IBS should be determined according to the predominant symptom and symptom severity. In addition to diet, some lifestyle changes can also be helpful in reducing IBS symptoms. Antispasmodics and antidepressants are not fast-acting. These drugs should be used for at least 2-4 weeks to see the efficacy of treatment. Drugs should be used according to the standard recommended duration and dose in intermittent treatments.

How fragile the positive results of Chinese herbal medicine randomized controlled trials on irritable bowel syndrome are?

OBJECTIVE: The fragility index (FI), which is the minimum number of changes in status from "event" to "non-event" resulting in a loss of statistical significance, serves as a significant supplementary indicator for clinical physicians in interpreting clinical trial results and aids in understanding the outcomes of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In this systematic literature survey, we evaluated the FI for RCTs evaluating Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and explored potential associations between study characteristics and the robustness of RCTs. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in four databases in Chinese and four databases in English from their inception to January 1, 2023. RCTs encompassed 1:1 ratio into two parallel arms and reported at least one binary outcome that demonstrated statistical significance were included. FI was calculated by the iterative reduction of a target outcome event in the treatment group and concomitant subtraction of a non-target event from that group, until positive significance (defined as P < 0.05 by Fisher's exact test) is lost. The lower the FI (minimum 1) of a trial outcome, the more fragile the positive result of the outcome was. Linear regression models were adopted to explore influence factors of the value of FI. RESULTS: A total of 30 trials from 2 4118 potentially relevant citations were finally included. The median FI of total trials included was 1.5 (interquartile range [IQR], 1-5), and half of the trials (n = 15) had a FI equal to 1. In 12 trials (40%), the total number of participants lost to follow-up surpassed the respective FI. The study also identified that increased FI was significantly associated with no TCM syndrome differentiation for inclusion criteria of the patients, larger total sample size, low risk of bias, and larger numbers of events. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of CHM IBS RCTs with positive results were found to be fragile. Ensuring adequate sample size, scientifically rigorous study design, proper control of confounding factors, and a quality control calibration for consistency of TCM diagnostic results among clinicians should be addressed to increase the robustness of the RCTs. We recommend reporting the FI as one of the components of sensitivity analysis in future RCTs to facilitate the assessment of the fragility of trials.

Prevalence and Influencing Factors of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Among Nurses in China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of irritable bowel syndrome among nurses in order to update the epidemiological data. A questionnaire survey was administered to 1,325 clinical nurses. We used a questionnaire for demographic information, the IBS Severity Scoring System, the IBS Quality of Life questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory to conduct our survey. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to detect factors influencing irritable bowel syndrome among nurses. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome was 13.3%, and the severity of symptoms was mostly moderate. The IBS Quality of Life score was significantly reduced (p < .001). Various foods that caused abdominal pain (egg and dairy products [OR = 4.80], greasy food [OR = 5.80], spicy food [OR = 2.66], raw and cold food [OR = 2.43]), a family history of gastrointestinal diseases (OR = 1.64, 95% CI [1.038, 2.587]), drinking weak green tea (OR = 1.71, 95% CI [1.143, 2.552]), mild depression (OR = 1.78, 95% CI [1.005, 3.156]), and the personal accomplishment dimension of occupational burnout (OR = 2.52, 95% CI [1.039, 6.114]) had important effects on nurses suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. On the contrary, exercising 1-2 hours per week (OR = 0.53, 95% CI [0.327, 0.859]) had a protective effect. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among nurses is relatively high and may be influenced by several factors including genetics, diet, exercise, psychology, and occupational burnout.

Association between disturbance of self-organization and irritable bowel syndrome in Japanese population using the international trauma questionnaire.

Disturbance of self-organization (DSO) is defined by affective dysregulation, negative self-concept, and disturbances in relationships. Along with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), DSO is a part of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), which often results from childhood trauma and has life-long consequences. We investigated the association between CPTSD, PTSD, DSO, childhood adversity, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Individuals with IBS exhibited markedly higher prevalences of DSO, CPTSD, and PTSD symptoms and higher trauma scores compared with healthy individuals. The odds of having IBS were 3.718 and 1.924 times greater for those with DSO symptoms (p < .001) and CPTSD symptoms (p = .005), respectively. IBS severity was highest in the DSO group, followed by the CPTSD, PTSD, and non-DSO/CPTSD/PTSD groups. DSO symptoms mediate the impact of childhood adversity on IBS symptoms, explaining half of this effect, whereas PTSD symptoms do not. These findings suggest a significant role of DSO in the development of IBS.

Impaired Epithelial CD200L Tolerance Signaling in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Cases With Diarrhea May Be Associated With Recurrent Miscarriages.

PROBLEM: There is a higher incidence of irritable bowel syndrome with miscarriages, and recurrent miscarriages of otherwise normal embryos have been linked to subnormal expression of the immune checkpoint inhibitor CD200L. We sought to determine if alterations in the expression of the CD200 immune checkpoint inhibitor occur in colonic tissue in IBS-D patients. METHOD OF STUDY: Quantitative immunohistochemical staining of biopsies from proximal and distal colon or rectum for the inhibitory CD200L and CD200S molecules was done. CD56 cells were also enumerated as they play a role in recurrent miscarriages and may express CD200S. RESULTS: CD200L was decreased and CD200S was unchanged in epithelium but not stroma of 3 IBS-D cases. One case had an increase in both CD200L and CD200S. CD56 cells were also stained for CD200S. Degranulation was assessed by the percentage of extracellular CD200S that was increased as epithelial CD200L decreased. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study was promising and warrants a larger sample to determine if a correlation between uterine implantation site CD200L and CD200S expression in normal and failing implantation sites is needed. Colonic epithelial CD200L may then provide useful information about the pathogenesis of the spontaneous miscarriage in individual cases.

Deciphering internal and external factors influencing intestinal junctional complexes.

The intestinal barrier, an indispensable guardian of gastrointestinal health, mediates the intricate exchange between internal and external environments. Anchored by evolutionarily conserved junctional complexes, this barrier meticulously regulates paracellular permeability in essentially all living organisms. Disruptions in intestinal junctional complexes, prevalent in inflammatory bowel diseases and irritable bowel syndrome, compromise barrier integrity and often lead to the notorious "leaky gut" syndrome. Critical to the maintenance of the intestinal barrier is a finely orchestrated network of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that modulate the expression, composition, and functionality of junctional complexes. This review navigates through the composition of key junctional complex components and the common methods used to assess intestinal permeability. It also explores the critical intracellular signaling pathways that modulate these junctional components. Lastly, we delve into the complex dynamics between the junctional complexes, microbial communities, and environmental chemicals in shaping the intestinal barrier function. Comprehending this intricate interplay holds paramount importance in unraveling the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal disorders. Furthermore, it lays the foundation for the development of precise therapeutic interventions targeting barrier dysfunction.

Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of an internet-based prevention intervention for young children at-risk for functional abdominal pain.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain often clusters in families, where parents and their offspring both experience chronic pain conditions. Young children of parents with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) represent an at-risk group for the development of abdominal pain, disability, and excess health care visits in later childhood. Parental solicitous responses to children's expressions of discomfort and maternal modeling of their own illness behavior contribute to a greater focus on somatic sensations, leading to illness behaviors in children. This randomized controlled trial will test the effectiveness of an early preventive web-based psychosocial intervention (REACH)[TM] vs. an educational web-based safety comparison condition delivered to parents with IBS to alter parental responses and lead to improved child health and decreased health care costs. METHODS: Parents with IBS who have children ages 4-7 years are recruited via community-based approaches (e.g., social media advertisements, school electronic distribution, research networks) and health care providers. The target sample is 460 parents randomized to REACH, a web-based social learning and cognitive behavior therapy (SLCBT) intervention or an educational web-based safety comparison condition (EC). Participants will be assessed at baseline, 6-week (immediate post-intervention), 6-month, 12-month, and 18-month follow-up periods (months post-completion of intervention). The primary outcome is change in parental solicitous/protective behaviors. Secondary outcomes include parent risk and protective factors, child health and symptom outcomes, and health care utilization and cost savings. DISCUSSION: This study adapts a validated, parent-delivered intervention to treat chronic pain in children to a web-based application designed to prevent the development of chronic pain in very young, high-risk children. If successful, this strategy can both prevent adverse sequelae of this condition from developing as well as be widely accessible. Furthermore, the availability of a prevention model for parent training could result in significant short- and long-term health benefits across a broad spectrum of conditions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05730491. Registered on February 15, 2023.

Impact of mechanical barrier damage and interleukin-17 on symptoms in patients with post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome.

Aims/Background The pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome encompasses various factors, including abnormal gastrointestinal motility, heightened visceral sensitivity, dysfunction in the brain-gut axis, psychological influences, and disturbances in the intestinal flora. These factors manifest primarily as persistent or intermittent abdominal pain, diarrhoea, alterations in bowel habits, or changes in stool characteristics. In our investigation, we delve into the repercussions of mechanical barrier damage and immune dysfunction on symptoms among patients with post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. Methods This study recruited a total of 20 healthy controls and 49 patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. Among the irritable bowel syndrome patients, we categorised them into two groups based on the ROME IV diagnostic criteria: the post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome group (n=23) and the non-post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome group (n=26). To compare clinical features, we utilised the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. Furthermore, we employed various techniques including haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, electron microscopy, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, and flow cytometry to assess changes in immune cells, immune factors, inflammatory biomarkers, and intestinal barrier function. Results Under haematoxylin and eosin staining, post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome patients demonstrated increased neutrophils and plasma cells compared to the control group. Additionally, electron microscopy revealed ultrastructural changes such as the widening of the epithelial cell gap in the intestinal mucosa among post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome patients. Comparatively, the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and Self-Rating Depression Scale scores were significantly elevated in the post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome group in contrast to both the control group and the non- post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome group (p < 0.05). Moreover, post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome patients exhibited a notably higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) were elevated in post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome patients compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome group displayed a higher percentage of T helper 17 (Th17) cells compared to both the control and non-post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion Acute gastrointestinal infection can disrupt the balance of intestinal flora, leading to dysbiosis. This dysbiosis can trigger the release of pro-inflammatory factors, including interleukin-17, which contributes to the impairment of the intestinal mucosal barrier. Consequently, this sets the stage for the development of long-lasting, mild chronic intestinal inflammation, ultimately culminating in the onset of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. Furthermore, within the framework of the gut-brain axis interaction, anxiety and depression may exacerbate intestinal inflammation in post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome patients. This interaction can perpetuate and prolong clinical symptoms in individuals with post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome, further complicating the management of the condition.

Global research states and trends of micro RNA in irritable bowel syndrome: a bibliometric analysis.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common chronic gastrointestinal disorder, but its diagnosis and treatment remain obscure. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), as potential biomarkers, have attracted increasing attention in digestive diseases. Here, we present a comprehensive research status, development trends, and valuable insights in this subject area. The literature search was performed using Web of Science Core Collection. VOSviewer 1.6.20, Citespace 6.2.R4, and Microsoft Excel 2021 were used for bibliometric analysis. A total of 124 articles were included in the analysis. Overall, publication patterns fluctuated. Globally, People's Republic of China, the USA, and Germany were the top three contributors of publications. Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, University of California, Mayo Clinic, and University of California, Los Angeles contributed the highest number of publications. The pathways and specific mechanisms by which ncRNAs regulate transcription and translation and thus regulate the pathophysiological processes of IBS are the main research hotspots in this field. We found that microRNA (miRNAs) are intricately involved in the regulation of key pathologies such as viscera sensitivity, intestinal permeability, intestinal mucosal barrier, immunoinflammatory response, and brain-gut axis in the IBS, and these topics have garnered significant attention in research community. Notably, microecological disorders are also associated with IBS pathogenesis, and ncRNA may play an important role in the interactions between host and intestinal flora. This is the first bibliometric study to comprehensively summarize the research hotspots and trends related to IBS and ncRNAs (especially miRNAs). Our findings will help understand the role of ncRNAs in IBS and provide guidance to future studies.

Symptoms of functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome among medical students in Slovakia and their relation to diet and exercise.

INTRODUCTION: There is a substantial lack of data regarding the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FD) in the region of Central/Eastern Europe. It is a well-described and known fact that environmental, ethnic, dietary, and cultural factors can influence the reporting of symptoms. Therefore, we aim to provide the first data documenting the prevalence of specific disorders of gut-brain interaction in Slovakia. METHODS: This is a multicenter-based study. The study population consists of medical students from three medical faculties in Slovakia, mainly with Slovakian and Scandinavian permanent residency. Data collection was performed by means of anonymous questionnaires consisting of several demographic questions. Two forms of questionnaires were used. One was in paper form, and the second was distributed via email. RESULTS: Altogether, 1061 students participated in this study. Symptoms of IBS were presented in 7.3% of students, and FD in 13%. In the Slovakian group, these were FD 12%, and IBS 7%. The subgroup from Scandinavia shows a prevalence of IBS of 11.7% and FD of 14.0%. A lack of exercise and a vegan diet are related to a higher presence of FD. CONCLUSION: The results of this multicentre study represent the first published data for the presence of symptoms of IBS and FD in Slovakia. Our data also show a significantly higher prevalence of IBS in students from Scandinavia compared with those from Central/Eastern Europe. A higher frequency of physical exercise is associated with a lower presence of symptoms of FD. On the other hand, the symptoms of FD were mostly prevalent in the group adhering to a vegan and vegetarian type diet.

Irritable bowel syndrome in medical students from Lima, Peru, during the COVID-19 pandemic, using virtual questionnaires according to the Rome IV criteria: prevalence and associated factors.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder, characterized by changes of the intestinal habit associated with abdominal pain. This study analyzed factors associated with this pathology during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was seen that the impact of IBS was higher in young women who had ongoing studies in the medical field. OBJECTIVES: Determine the prevalence of IBS in medical students and explore the associated factors with the increase of its symptoms, through the use of digital tools. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Descriptive observational study with exploration of associations, with non-probabilistic sampling, until reaching the minimum sample of 110 participants with a confidence interval of 95%, finally having a total sample of 131 students, distributed in 3 proportional and representative subgroups of the last 3 years of study of the medical career from a university from Lima, Peru. The inclusion criteria were students of both sexes and legal age, who gave their consent to participate and did not have risk factors for GI disease. Once the study was approved, the link of a validated virtual questionnaire was shared through the institutional email. To explore the associated factors, the Chi-square test was used with a statistical significance of p < 0.05. RESULTS: Responses were obtained from 195 students; 64 (32.82%) of them had at least one exclusion criteria, finally having a sample size of 131; 64 (48.85%) were women, and 52 (39.69%) were from 7th year. Using the Rome IV criteria, 23 participants were classified as having IBS, which indicates a prevalence of 17.56%, 14 (60.87%) of them were women and 10 (43.48%) were from the 7th year (last year of study of the medical career in Peru). It was observed that 1 in 3 students (32.06%) had chronic abdominal pain, and 1 in 2 (53.44%) reported having a history of Major Depression or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Of the total, 51 (38.93%) had a history of having a positive COVID-19 test result. Regarding the associated factors, a significant association was only found between IBS and the diarrhea type, classified according to the Bristol Scale. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of IBS in medical students was 17.56%, the highest compared with studies in the general population and in medical students using Rome IV criteria. Of the associated factors, the clinical presentation of diarrhea, according to the Bristol scale, was associated with IBS.

Exploring the potential causal effects of food preferences on irritable bowel syndrome risk: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

OBJECTIVES: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder in gut-brain interaction. Diet plays an important role in the pathophysiology of IBS. Therefore, we aimed to explore the potential causal effects of food-liking on IBS to provide better diet advice for patients. METHODS: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with food-liking were selected as instrumental variables, which were obtained from the latest genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted on 161 625 participants. The summary data of genetic associations with IBS were obtained from a recent GWAS with 433 201 European controls and 53 400 cases. We used inverse variance weighting as the main analysis. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to detect horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity. RESULTS: Significant evidence revealed the protective effects of a vegetarian diet-liking on IBS, including asparagus, avocadoes, globe artichoke, aubergine, and black olives, while onion-liking showed potential deleterious effects. For meat and fish, preference for sardines and fried fish was marginally associated with IBS risk, but salami and salmon were potential protective factors. In terms of desserts and dairy products, preferences for cake icing, ketchup, and cheesecake were suggestively associated with higher IBS risk, while goat cheese-liking was marginally correlated with lower IBS risk. Additionally and suggestively, significant causal effects of IBS on increased preferences for globe artichoke and salami were also found in a reverse Mendelian randomization (MR) study. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed potential causal associations between food preference and IBS from a genetic perspective, which provides a dietary reference for such patients.

Quantum Medicine and Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Associated Chronic Low-Back Pain: A Pilot Observational Study on the Clinical and Bio-Psycho-Social Effects of Bioresonance Therapy.

Background and Objectives: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an invasive and potentially disabling syndrome characterized by a multitude of symptoms capable of reducing the quality of life of patients. Among the most disabling symptoms of IBS is certainly physical pain, which manifests itself mainly at the abdominal level but can also appear in other areas of the body, particularly in the form of chronic low-back pain (CLBP). Among the non-invasive methods of treating organ-specific pathologies and organ-related musculoskeletal problems, the use of Bioresonance Therapy (BT)-based on the administration of self-modulating Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, capable of determining a rebalance of bio-electrical and metabolic activity in the presence of various functional alterations-is currently gaining acceptance. Therefore, we decided to monitor results obtained from patients suffering from IBS and CLBP subjected to a cycle of treatments with BT. Materials and Methods: We monitored 20 patients (12 women and 8 men, average age of 51 years) suffering from CLBP and other visceral symptoms related to IBS. Patients were monitored through the use of the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS), the Fecal Calprotectin test and the Short-Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36), collected before (T0) and after (T1) the execution of the cycle of treatments. They undertook a treatment protocol consisting of eight sessions of BT carried out over about a month. Results: At the end of the treatments with BT, it was possible to observe a general and significant improvement in all the parameters observed, as well as a close inversely proportional correlation between the Calprotectin values detected and the quality of life experienced by the patients in relation to their perceived IBS symptoms. Conclusions: Overall, our pilot study would seem to suggest a potential beneficial effect of BT in modulating organic and musculoskeletal symptoms derived from IBS.