It is estimated that more than 6% of the Dutch population has Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). A chronic intestinal disorder characterized by frequent and severe abdominal pain, abdominal cramps, problems with bowel movements, a swollen abdomen or flatulence. A possible cause of IBS is disruption of the brain-gut axis, the communication between the brain and gut and vice versa.
Stimulation of the vagus nerve
Keszthelyi hypothesizes that autonomic neuromodulation can restore this imbalance. His new research therefore focuses specifically on this. One question he wants to answer is whether non-invasive transcutaneous electrical vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is effective in patients with IBS. Electric currents are passed through the skin through a safe and user-friendly device on the ear to the vagus nerve, the longest nerve in our body that connects the brain with, among other things, the intestines. Keszthelyi: “The clinical efficacy of this vagal neuromodulation has not yet been scientifically proven in IBS. If my research shows it to be effective, it could fundamentally change the therapeutic landscape of IBS and other pain disorders.”
Development profiles PDS
In addition, he wants to develop new multimodal predictive biomarkers for IBS by combining biometric data and neuroimaging. Keszthelyi: “I assume that IBS patients have different neurological profiles of pain sensitivity. By gaining insight into this, we may be able to predict whether a patient will benefit from the new treatment approach with neurostimulation. That would also be an important breakthrough in the personalized approach to irritable bowel syndrome.”
Photo: Karen Veldkamp