IgG Elimination Diet Plus Probiotics May Be Beneficial for Patients With Both Migraine and IBS

An immunoglobulin G (IgG) elimination diet combined with probiotics may be effective and beneficial for patients with both migraine and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to a study published by Pain Research and Management.

The study involved 60 patients diagnosed with migraine and IBS. IgG antibodies against 266 food varieties were detected by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The participants were randomized into 3 groups and were treated with an IgG elimination diet, probiotics, or diet combined with probiotics.

The researchers also measured migraine symptoms, gut function score, medication use, and serum serotonin levels at baseline, 7 weeks, and again at 14 weeks.

“Emerging evidence suggests that migraine patients tend to get gastrointestinal diseases and patients with gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are more liable to catch migraine, as compared to healthy controls. Among these patients, migraine concomitant IBS is most commonly seen,” the study noted. “Growing evidence indicates that the intestinal microbiota and its metabolites may manage GI functions by affecting intestinal sensitivity and motility, intestinal permeability, and mucosal immune function.”

The results suggested that improvement of migraine and gut symptom was achieved at a certain time point. Also, there was a reduced use of over-the-counter analgesics in all groups; however, the use of triptans did not show a significant difference.

Moreover, the results revealed an increased serum serotonin level in the participants treated with the elimination diet and elimination diet combined with probiotics.

“IBS patients were proved to have a greater gut permeability defect than healthy controls. Thus, increased intake of dietary antigens to lamina propria occurred in individuals with IBS,” explained the authors. “Decreased lymphocyte proliferation and release of inflammatory cytokines were found when consuming customized elimination diet.”

The researchers concluded that the results suggest that an IgG elimination diet combined with probiotics may be beneficial for those with migraine plus IBS; however, future research is required in order to determine how it may affect pathophysiology of migraine.

Reference

Xie Y, Zhou G, et al. Effects of diet based on IgG elimination combined with probiotics on migraine plus irritable bowel syndrome [published online August 21, 2019]. Pain Research Management. doi: 10.1155/2019/7890461.