This article from Gastroenterology and Endoscopy News discusses a recent study that sought to determine the connection between gastrointestinal microbiota and IBS in children. Studies in adults have indicated that the gastrointestinal microbiota could be involved in IBS.
It’s nice to see that they are looking at these issues, but it’s important for people to understand that there is a gigantic chasm between research like this and what is happening at the doctors office. This is a gap we’ve been seeking to fill at the IBS Treatment Center. This also serves as yet another reminder that it’s up to the patient to look at the information objectively and remember that IBS treatment is different for everyone because there is no one specific cause of IBS.
Our favorite quote…
“Two children who appear to have the same type of chronic pain may actually need two different treatments.”
Um…yes…that’s correct.
Excerpt:
Diet can affect health by modulating gut microbiome composition, and University of Pennsylvania researchers reported that certain microbial enterotype states are associated with long-term dietary patterns (Wu GD et al. Science 2011;334:105-108).
Gary D. Wu, MD, and colleagues used dietary inventories and 16S rDNA sequencing to characterize fecal samples from 98 individuals.
“We investigated the association of dietary and environmental variables with the gut microbiota,” he explained.
A controlled feeding study of 10 subjects showed that microbiome composition changed detectably within 24 hours of initiating a high-fat/low-fiber or a low-fat/high-fiber diet, but that enterotype identity remained stable during the 10 days.
In the interventional study, changes were significant and rapid, but the magnitude of the changes was modest and not sufficient to switch subjects to another enterotype. In comparing short- and long-term diets, the investigators found that only long-term diets were correlated with enterotype clustering.
Full article here.
Study that this article is based upon can be found at NIH.gov.
Article Courtesy: Dr. Stephen Wangen
Image thanks to wellsphere
Great post! sounds very related with My Celiac Disease Journey. I got a diagnosis, one which consists of Fibromyalgia, Celiac disease, Thyroid disease, severe malnutrition, severe anemia, high blood pressure, restless leg syndrome, and boarder line diabetic. You see I had a big bouquet of diseases! Thanks for the info. I keep on reading…
Studies in adults have indicated that the gastrointestinal microbiota could be involved in IBS.
After 11 years of misdiagnoses, I stcsepued celiac disease after my younger sister was diagnosed with both celiac and ulcerative colitis. I went on several celiac websites, compared the symptoms to my own, and then went to my doctor and asked her to perform the blood tests. No surprise they came back postitive. My symptoms were varied huge weight loss (and I had already been underweight my entire life); stomach cramps and chronic diarrhea; occasional and unexplanable episodes of nearly blacking out; limbs that would suddenly feel dead ; canker sores; the absolute weirdest noises eminating from my intestines after I ate; and an overall feeling that I was toxic and slowly dying! I didn't follow up with a biopsy because it was pretty apparent from the severity of my symptoms that there was, indeed, already substantial intestinal damage. So I never got that official celiac diagnosis, even though I'm convinced that's what it was. In the three years since going off gluten, another sister took a DNA test for gluten intolerence, which came back positive. And I am pretty certain from their symptoms that both my son and my granddaughter also have gluten issues, but so far have not been tested. The long-term ramifications of undiagnosed celiac/gluten intolerance are far-reaching and serious; I, too, would like to see gluten testing become as common as testing for cholesterol and high blood sugar, but as long as insurance companies continue to control the health care industry (instead of physicians and patients), and since celiac can't be treated with an expensive drug from a big pharmaceutical company, routine testing will remain only a dream ..