Chapter Twelve The Intestinal Microbiota in the Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic abdominal symptom complex occurring in a bowel devoid of discernible relevant pathology. There is growing interest in the role of the intestinal microbiota as a basis for the intestinal and possibly behavioral manifestations of this condition. Molecular-based microbial profiling has revealed compositional changes in the microbiota of at least a subset of IBS patients but the data are often …