Eriksson, Elsa Maria, Andrén, Kristina Ingrid, Kurlberg, Göran Karl et al. · World journal of gastroenterology · 2015 · DOI
This article explains how irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) develops through problems in communication between the gut and brain, especially when the body is stressed or has experienced trauma. The authors suggest that combining traditional gastroenterology care with body-mind therapies—which help patients become more aware of their physical sensations—may be more effective than treating the gut alone.
This review is relevant to ME/CFS because both conditions share overlapping features including ANS dysregulation, gut-brain axis dysfunction, low interoceptive awareness, and poor symptom recognition. The proposed integrated diagnostic and treatment approach—addressing both somatic dysfunction and emotional dysregulation—offers potential insights for ME/CFS management, as gut symptoms are common comorbidities in this population.
This editorial does not provide empirical evidence testing specific IBS treatments or prove causation between ANS dysregulation and symptoms; it reviews and synthesizes existing literature. It does not establish that body-mind therapies are more effective than pharmacological or other interventions through controlled trials, nor does it prove that low body awareness causes IBS rather than results from it.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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