Gut–Brain–Microbiota Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology and Current Approaches
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a widespread functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by chronic abdominal discomfort and altered bowel habits. Despite its high impact on life quality and healthcare systems, the initial pathophysiology of IBS is not yet fully understood. The present narr...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Mihaela Stoyanova Vera Gledacheva Stoyanka Nikolova |
| author_facet | Mihaela Stoyanova Vera Gledacheva Stoyanka Nikolova |
| author_sort | Mihaela Stoyanova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a widespread functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by chronic abdominal discomfort and altered bowel habits. Despite its high impact on life quality and healthcare systems, the initial pathophysiology of IBS is not yet fully understood. The present narrative review aims to synthesise and integrate recent evidence regarding the multifactorial nature of IBS, focusing on the interplay between gut–brain interactions, microbiota, and immune responses, without proposing a novel model but rather reinforcing and updating existing conceptual frameworks. A comprehensive literature search of relevant studies published in English during the past two decades was conducted using Pub-Med, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The selected articles were thoroughly evaluated to provide a complete overview of IBS-related research. The review demonstrates that IBS is not only a multifactorial condition involving gut–brain axis dysregulation, altered gut motility, visceral hypersensitivity, and microbiome disturbances, but also a crucial psychosocial factor. Modern therapeutics targeting the microbiota and neurogastroenterology pathways show promising results but require further investigation. IBS represents a heterogeneous disorder with complex interrelated mechanisms. Improvements in understanding its multifaceted nature are of paramount importance in developing more effective diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Continued research is essential to unravel the intricacies of IBS and improve patient outcomes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e29ee9c894c143539111b1cd5bf302e9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-e29ee9c894c143539111b1cd5bf302e92025-08-20T03:26:10ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-06-011512644110.3390/app15126441Gut–Brain–Microbiota Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology and Current ApproachesMihaela Stoyanova0Vera Gledacheva1Stoyanka Nikolova2Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, BulgariaDepartment of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, BulgariaDepartment of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, BulgariaIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a widespread functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by chronic abdominal discomfort and altered bowel habits. Despite its high impact on life quality and healthcare systems, the initial pathophysiology of IBS is not yet fully understood. The present narrative review aims to synthesise and integrate recent evidence regarding the multifactorial nature of IBS, focusing on the interplay between gut–brain interactions, microbiota, and immune responses, without proposing a novel model but rather reinforcing and updating existing conceptual frameworks. A comprehensive literature search of relevant studies published in English during the past two decades was conducted using Pub-Med, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The selected articles were thoroughly evaluated to provide a complete overview of IBS-related research. The review demonstrates that IBS is not only a multifactorial condition involving gut–brain axis dysregulation, altered gut motility, visceral hypersensitivity, and microbiome disturbances, but also a crucial psychosocial factor. Modern therapeutics targeting the microbiota and neurogastroenterology pathways show promising results but require further investigation. IBS represents a heterogeneous disorder with complex interrelated mechanisms. Improvements in understanding its multifaceted nature are of paramount importance in developing more effective diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Continued research is essential to unravel the intricacies of IBS and improve patient outcomes.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6441gut–brain axisirritable bowel syndromemicrobiomeserotoninsignalling pathways |
| spellingShingle | Mihaela Stoyanova Vera Gledacheva Stoyanka Nikolova Gut–Brain–Microbiota Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology and Current Approaches Applied Sciences gut–brain axis irritable bowel syndrome microbiome serotonin signalling pathways |
| title | Gut–Brain–Microbiota Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology and Current Approaches |
| title_full | Gut–Brain–Microbiota Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology and Current Approaches |
| title_fullStr | Gut–Brain–Microbiota Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology and Current Approaches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gut–Brain–Microbiota Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology and Current Approaches |
| title_short | Gut–Brain–Microbiota Axis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology and Current Approaches |
| title_sort | gut brain microbiota axis in irritable bowel syndrome a narrative review of pathophysiology and current approaches |
| topic | gut–brain axis irritable bowel syndrome microbiome serotonin signalling pathways |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6441 |
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