Some patients with irritable bowel syndrome have gut microbiota alterations.

Various treatments affected gut microbiota compositions, but many studies showed no symptomatic improvement.

Specific subgroups seem to benefit from treatments that target the gut microbiota.

Future trials should further identify and characterize these subgroups.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of gut-brain interaction affecting 4% of the world's population. Patients with IBS experience chronic or recurrent abdominal pain in combination with altered bowel habits (diarrhea and/or constipation), and have reduced quality of life. Despite the high prevalence and substantial burden of IBS, its pathophysiology is incompletely understood and remains to be elucidated. The importance of the gut microenvironment has been highlighted in IBS, as there are signs that the gut microbiota of patients differs from healthy controls. Recent studies have aimed to alter the gut microbiota and thereby, attempted to alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms in IBS patients. We highlighted recent advances in common treatments that are targeting the luminal gut microbiota in IBS.

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.