Could a Troubled Childhood Be To Blame For Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Study Finds a Strong Link

Could a troubled childhood be to blame for irritable bowel syndrome? Study finds a strong link between our belly, brain and early trauma

• Connection found between gut bacteria and structural changes in brain
• Negative childhood experiences were associated with brain alterations
• Treatments for IBS should be tailored by gut test results, findings suggest

New research has revealed a link between the gut and the brain in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and established it could be triggered by a traumatic childhood.

The exact cause of this common, long-term condition of the digestive system - which is often linked to diet - is not fully understood.

However, it has long been thought to be due to problems with the nerves or muscles in the gut, which bring on cramps and abdominal pain.



Now for the first time, a connection has been made between the gut bacteria of IBS patients and structural alterations in the brain.

Specifically, images of the areas processing sensory information - which are our perceptions of taste, sight, smell, hearing and touch - showed differences for IBS patients.

The study, by the University of California, Los Angeles, also found that early life trauma could indirectly trigger IBS in this way.




IBS can be a painful and debilitating condition which affects one in five people

Negative childhood experiences have been associated with structural brain changes, which are thought to alter our gut microbiota - the complex community of microorganisms that live in the digestive tracts.

'Signals from the gut microbes shape the way the sensory system develops,' study author Emeran Mayer told Newsweek.

'A lot of influences start during pregnancy and go on for the first three years of life. That's the programming of the gut microbiome-brain axis.'

Until now, most of the research on the relationship between gut microflora and the brain's functioning has been based only on mice.

The team collected behavioural information, stool samples and brain images from 29 adults with IBS and 23 healthy people as controls.



Signals generated by the brain can influence the composition of microbes in the intestine

They found that people diagnosed with IBS could be split into clear groups based on differences between their gut microbes - those with distinct categories of bacteria, referred to as IBS1; and those with bacteria that was similar to the healthy subjects.

HOW IBS CAN BE MANAGED

IBS is thought to affect up to one in five people at some point in their life.

It usually first develops when a person is between 20 and 30 years of age.

Around twice as many women are affected as men.

There is no cure for IBS, but the symptoms can often be managed by making changes to your diet and lifestyle.

For example, it may help to:

• Identify and avoid foods or drinks that trigger your symptoms
• Alter the amount of fibre in your diet
• Exercise regularly
• Reduce your stress levels

Medication is sometimes prescribed to help manage symptoms.

Subtle but specific differences were found in brain structure between the sub-groups - areas of the brain associated with pulling together the body's sensory information were slightly bigger in those in the IBS1 category.

The images of certain sensory regions of the brain showed differences for the IBS patients with the distinct microbiome, compared with the healthy subjects.

It is thought that traumatic experiences early in life could affect the brain, which in turn influences the kinds of microbes that grow in the gut. These in turn could influence the brain's development.

Changes to the gut microbiota work in reverse too, say the researchers, by feeding back to sensory brain regions, and altering the sensitivity to gut stimuli - a hallmark of IBS sufferers.

The researchers suggest the findings could mean treatments for IBS should be tailored by gut flora test results.

'These findings suggest the possibility of a new classification of IBS patients based on gut microbial signatures rather than on clinical characteristics,' the report states.

'Furthermore, consistent with clinical observations, the findings suggest the possibility that treatments aimed at altered gut microbial composition with antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, and certain diets may only work in subgroups of patients with an altered gut microbiome.'

The research was published in the journal Microbiome.

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