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Personalized Approach Yields Positive Results in Pilot Trial
A novel approach to treating post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has shown promising results in a pilot trial conducted by a team of researchers based in Italy. The study, presented at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases conference in Barcelona, Spain, revealed that a personalized combination of antibiotics, prebiotics, and probiotics led to improved symptoms in a cohort of 13 participants with IBS.
Post-infectious IBS arises after a person experiences a gastric infection, such as norovirus, food poisoning, or even COVID-19. Symptoms include recurrent pain, changes in bowel habits, abdominal discomfort, bloating, and diarrhea. Traditional treatments often involve antibiotics and probiotics, but the Italian team’s approach tailored the treatment regimen based on the individual’s gut microbiome.
Researchers analyzed the gut microbiomes of participants to detect bacterial strains and imbalances. They then prescribed specific antibiotics to target pathogenic bacteria overgrowth and supplemented with probiotics and prebiotics to restore beneficial bacterial strains.
Results from the trial were encouraging, with over a third of participants experiencing complete remission of symptoms 12 weeks after starting treatment. Twelve out of 13 participants reported symptom improvement, and five achieved total remission.
Dr. Maurizio Sanguinetti, one of the study authors from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, Italy, expressed optimism about the findings, highlighting plans for further research. He emphasized the need for randomized trials to compare microbiota-driven therapy with standard care approaches.
While the personalized treatment approach shows promise, experts urge caution regarding its broader applicability. Dr. Satish Rao, a gastroenterologist from Augusta University, notes the lack of control groups in the study and emphasizes the need for further research to understand the underlying microbiome dynamics in IBS.
Dr. Vincent Young, a professor of internal medicine and infectious disease at the University of Michigan, highlights the complexity of post-infectious IBS and the challenges in defining its onset period after an infection.
Despite the positive outcomes, questions remain regarding the underlying dysbiosis in individuals with IBS and the identification of causal factors. Dr. Rao emphasizes the importance of sequencing the microbiome in healthy individuals to advance research and target treatments effectively.
The pilot trial represents a significant step forward in personalized medicine for IBS treatment. However, further research is needed to validate these findings and refine personalized approaches to address the complexities of post-infectious IBS effectively.
This article is based on non-peer-reviewed research presented at a conference and should be interpreted with caution until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
