Concurrency of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Role of Saccharomyces Boulardii as a Probiotic Agent

Background and Objective: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder that affects the large intestine. Signs and symptoms include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhea or constipation, or both. The term inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) describes a group of disorders in which the intestines become inflamed. Two major types of IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn s disease. Ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon or large intestine. Crohn s disease, on the other hand, can involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus. The combination of these two disorders simultaneously can exacerbate the symptoms, which is very annoying for patients and, if left unchecked, can increase the risk of colon cancer in these people. The aim of this study was to investigate the evidence of yeast S. boulardii as a treatment option in concurrency of IBS and IBD. Material and Methods: This double blind randomized clinical trial was done in 2017 in Mofid Children educational hospital, Tehran, Iran. 60 patients who aged less than 16 years old with mild to moderate IBD in concurrency with IBS were selected. The patients were divided into two groups, control group and case group. Case group received S.boulardii capsules twice daily for eight weeks. Each capsule was consist of 250 milligrams of Saccharomyces boulardii yeast. Also, the control group received placebo as the same regimen. At the beginning and the end of the study, pain, diarrhea and quality of life evaluated by a valid questionnaire. The statistical analysis of the findings was done by SPSS software V. 23. Results: The differences of baseline and endpoint score of pain severity between two groups suggested significant differences between two groups (P<0.05). Also, the differences of baseline and endpoint score of diarrhea severity between two groups suggested a significant differences between two groups (P<0.05). Finally the results demonstrated that quality of life was significantly improved in case group in comparison with control group (P<0.05). In addition, there was not a notable adverse effect in case group to report. Conclusion: Probiotics are live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. The use of S. boulardii as a therapeutic probiotic is supported by its mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy from animal models and clinical trials. Hence, it can be used as an effective agent in concurrency of IBS and IBD to decreases the annoying symptoms.

Keywords:

Crohn s disease , Saccharomyces boulardii , Inflammatory bowel disease , Ulcerative colitis