Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Recent clinical, regulatory, research and industry developments relating to this disease.
Psychedelic-assisted Therapy as a Promising Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Microbiome Shifts and Their Impact on Gut Physiology in Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Gut microbiota and intestinal immunity-A crosstalk in irritable bowel syndrome.
The neurobiology of irritable bowel syndrome.
What's happening now
An analyst briefing on current research, clinical, regulatory and industry activity surrounding this disease.
- 1 clinical trial expected to report results, the earliest in Q4 2027.
- Active recent publication activity.
Research HighlightsViewHide
Clinical MilestonesViewHide
- 2026-03-23Multicenter Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Ebastine and Mebeverine as Treatment of Irritable Bowel SyndromeResults expected Q4 2027
- 2026-04-01A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Live SK08 Powder (Bacteroidetes Fragilis) in the Treatment of Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Diarrhea (IBS-D)Primary completion
- 2026-01-30A Pilot Quasi-experimental Study Evaluating a Standardized Boswellia Carterii Extract Combined With Structured Patient Education in IBSCompleted
- 2026-01-01The Role of Breath Testing in Enriching the Likelihood of Response to Rifaximin in Patients With Diarrhea IBSCompleted
- 2025-12-17An Open-label, Single Center Investigator Sponsored Study Assessing the Effect of Tenapanor on Metagenomic and Metabolomic Markers in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome With ConstipationCompleted
- 2026-04-01ClinicalA Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Live SK08 Powder (Bacteroidetes Fragilis) in the Treatment of Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Diarrhea (IBS-D)Primary completion
- 2026-03-23ClinicalMulticenter Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Ebastine and Mebeverine as Treatment of Irritable Bowel SyndromeResults expected Q4 2027
- 2026-03-11ResearchEfficacy and mechanisms of vagus nerve stimulation in irritable bowel syndrome: a comprehensive literature review.Quan Y · 2026
- 2026-01-30ClinicalA Pilot Quasi-experimental Study Evaluating a Standardized Boswellia Carterii Extract Combined With Structured Patient Education in IBSCompleted
- 2026-01-06ClinicalA Phase 3, Open-label, Long-term Safety Study of Oral Linaclotide Administered to Pediatric Participants With Functional Constipation (FC) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Constipation (IBS-C)Results posted
- 2026-01-01ClinicalThe Role of Breath Testing in Enriching the Likelihood of Response to Rifaximin in Patients With Diarrhea IBSCompleted
- 2025-12-17ClinicalAn Open-label, Single Center Investigator Sponsored Study Assessing the Effect of Tenapanor on Metagenomic and Metabolomic Markers in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome With ConstipationCompleted
Therapeutic landscape
Therapies with a regulatory footing for this condition, alongside the wider set of agents co-studied with it in the literature.
Approval — Constella is indicated for the symptomatic treatment of moderate to severe irritable-bowe… (2012)
Clinical trials
The current development programme across all trial phases.
Regulatory timeline
Drug regulatory events matched to this condition by indication — EMA.
European Medicines Agency (CC BY 4.0). Events are matched to this condition by drug indication text — approvals/updates for drugs indicated for it, not disease-specific acts.
Research activity
Key research shaping understanding of this disease, combining the latest publications with the most influential evidence.
Major themes8
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome8
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome5
- Beverages1
- Brain-Gut Axis1
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 21
- Diet1
- Enteric Nervous System1
- Food1
Leading journals6
- Gut2
- Nature communications2
- Annual review of medicine1
- Frontiers in immunology1
- Genome medicine1
- Immunology1
Leading researchers8
- Collij V2
- Fu J2
- Imhann F2
- Kurilshikov A2
- Mayer EA2
- Vich Vila A2
- Weersma RK2
- Wijmenga C2
Affiliations (unnormalised)6
- A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona1
- Academy of Integrative Medicine1
- Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center1
- Center for Bioinformatics1
- Center for Neurointestinal Health1
- Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics.1
Related conditions
Diseases frequently studied alongside this one. Number shows shared papers.
Disease profile
A grounded synthesis of the condition — overview, causes, mechanism, risk factors and current standard of care.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder marked by chronic or recurrent colonic symptoms without a clear-cut cause. It is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain, bloating, mucus in the stool, and irregular bowel habits or defecation.
The etiology is not clearly defined. The literature supports a multifactorial model involving predisposition, prior infectious gastroenteritis in some individuals, and interactions among the gut microbiome, the brain-gut axis, and genetic factors.
IBS is described as a disorder of brain-gut interactions with contributions from central and peripheral mechanisms. Reported mechanisms include altered gut-brain-microbiome signaling, visceral hypersensitivity, intestinal mucosal immune activation, and changes in gut microbial composition and function.
Predisposition is supported in the literature, including development after infectious gastroenteritis in some individuals. Associated factors discussed in the grounding include altered gut microbiota, brain-gut interaction abnormalities, genetic factors, and psychological comorbidity such as anxiety and depression.
Current approaches are described as limited to dietary interventions and centrally targeted pharmacological and behavioral approaches. The grounding also supports use of drug therapy and therapy at a broad class level, but does not specify particular agents or regimens.
AI-generated summary grounded in MeSH and 6 peer-reviewed sources. Informational only — not medical advice. Generated 2026-07-07.
Reference
Authoritative identity, definition & identifiers.
A disorder with chronic or recurrent colonic symptoms without a clearcut etiology. This condition is characterized by chronic or recurrent ABDOMINAL PAIN, bloating, MUCUS in FECES, and an erratic disturbance of DEFECATION.
- Disease identity & definition — NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), public domain
- Clinical trials — ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
- Research activity — Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI) + OpenAlex-derived paper links
- Related entities are derived from literature co-mention (studied together) — associative, not causal.