Intestinal barrier as a silent driver of gut-brain disorders

Abstract

Background The disorder of the gut-brain interaction, in adolescence, is of high prevalence worldwide. Up till now there is no clear aetiology for this gastrointestinal dysfunction. Objective To assess the status of the intestinal barrier in those having gut dysfunction compared with control group. Materials and methods A case-control study involved 180 Egyptian adolescents. They were distributed into two groups, the cases with positive ROME criteria and the controls with negative ROME criteria. Serum anti-flagellin antibodies (IgA and IgG) and intestinal fatty acid binding protein were assessed in both groups. Results and conclusion Ninety-nine adolescents out of 180 were positive for gastrointestinal dysfunction. The values of anti-flagellin antibodies and intestinal fatty acid binding protein were equivocal in both groups. Therefore, screening for gut-brain interaction disorders by ROME criteria is worthful for all adolescents. The positivity of ROME criteria does not always denote an underlying intestinal barrier defect.