Zara Nadir

Introduction. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the inflammation of the large intestine. Diagnosis of this syndrome is done with the use of the Rome IV Diagnostic Criteria. The prevalence of this syndrome is 10-15% worldwide, and the incidence is 1-2% per year.³  The symptoms associated with IBS are abdominal pain (relieved with defecation), constipation, diarrhea, and nausea.⁶  IBS pathogenesis is unknown; however, there are certain triggers that can cause IBS such as genetic/epigenetic factors, dysbiosis, chronic infections, alterations in the gut-brain axis, food hypersensitivity, immune dysregulation, and adverse life events. Probiotics are used to treat many gastrointestinal issues and can alleviate the symptoms of IBS. Therefore, it is important to understand that probiotics may alleviate IBS symptomology.⁶  Methods. Many sources were used to review if probiotic supplementation alleviated IBS symptomology and to understand IBS pathogenesis as this mechanism is still unknown.⁶ Results.  In one study, four-week-old male C57L/B6 mice were divided into three groups. There was a Daewon probiotics group, control group, and VSL3 group. Mice were infected with Trichinella. The VSL3 group received eight probiotic bacterial strains ((Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus). However, the use of Daewon probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus LA5, Bifidobacterium animalis subsup. Lactis BB12, yeast culture) decreased the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-alpha. TNF-alpha levels were 1.34 lower in the Daewon probiotics group compared to the control.¹  Overall, with the use of probiotics, TNF-alpha, IL-1B, and IL-6 levels were reduced. In another study, ninety patients that fulfilled the Rome VI Criteria were followed for 4 weeks. The first group was prescribed probiotics (10 billion colony of Lactobacillus delbruekii and Lactobacillus fermentum) and itopride hcl 50 mg three times daily. The second group received itopride hcl 50 mg three times daily for 4 weeks. There was a significant improvement in the IBS symptom severity score in group 1 after 4 weeks of treatment than in group 2. ²  Therefore, this shows the therapeutic value that probiotics serve in IBS because there was an improvement in the quality of life of patients taking the probiotics compared to the group that was not taking probiotics. Conclusion. Probiotics decrease IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-alpha in the colon, which decreases the inflammation in the colon. Therefore, the use of probiotics will provide relief to patients.

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