New Research Offers Hope for Those Living with Chronic Gut Pain and IBS
A promising breakthrough in the understanding of chronic gut pain could pave the way for improved treatments for individuals with irritable bowel syndrome and anxiety. Led by Flinders University Professor Stuart Brierley, a research team from the SA Health and Medical Research Institute, in collaboration with Nobel Laureate Professor David Julius, Professor Holly Ingraham, and Dr. James Bayrer from the University of California San Francisco, has identified a specific pathway connecting cells and nerves in the gut to the brain that could be responsible for chronic gut pain. These new findings offer hope for more effective treatments for individuals experiencing this debilitating condition.
According to recent estimates, chronic gut pain affects approximately 11% of the global population who live with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and associated psychological conditions like anxiety and depression.
A new study in the journal Nature describes how the research team utilized genetic and pharmacologic tools in pre-clinical models to understand how signals between gut epithelial cells and associated nerve fibers stimulate chronic gut pain and anxiety through this pathway.
Professor Brierley explains that the gut microbiome generates short chain fatty acids that interact with the gut lining, prompting a particular type of cell to release neurotransmitters.
This process triggers the activation of nerves connected to those cells, which then transmit pain signals to the brain through the gut-brain axis. Furthermore, the activation of these nerves is also linked to increased anxiety indicators.
The mechanism behind this chronic gut pain is overactive in females, which could help explain why women make up two-thirds of IBS patients and why individuals with IBS often experience symptoms of chronic gut pain and anxiety.
According to this research, IBS, anxiety, and depression could all be influenced by signaling within the intestinal tract, with individuals who have overactive communication between the gut and brain being more susceptible to experiencing pain. Professor Brierley notes that additional stress can exacerbate symptoms by further activating these mechanisms in the gut.
“There’s a variety of ways in which your susceptibility to pain can be altered on a daily-basis.
“Stress, infections, changes in diet and disruptions to the microbiome caused by medications, such as antibiotics, can mess with the way your gut signals to your brain.”
With a current shortage of effective treatments available for chronic gut pain and anxiety, researchers are working hard to address this issue. The discovery of the mechanisms driving these conditions means that specific interventions can be developed to obstruct communication between the cells and nerves responsible, potentially leading to the development of more effective treatments.
“Theoretically we should be able to find a way to stop gut pain at the source and simultaneously reduce feelings of anxiety.
“These future interventions are likely to include drug treatments, microbiome treatments and diet-based treatments.”
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