Analysis of tryptophan and the brain-gut-microbiota axis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

• Grant number: 23/18458-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Monica Levy Andersen
• Grantee: Vitória Darli Bertelli Bueno
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Change in sleep pattern is a condition with implications for public health. Studies have shownthat the intestinal microbiota has a constant and bidirectional connection with the brainthrough the brain-gut-microbiota axis, which is related to the tryptophan pathways, aprecursor of serotonin and, consequently, melatonin (sleep-regulating hormone).Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), whose prevalence has increased in recent years, causesystemic changes in the brain-gut-microbiota axis due to intestinal dysbiosis. These variationsmodify the tryptophan pathways, resulting in variations in the sleep pattern of patients withthese pathologies. Based on previous works whose findings were inconclusive and theepidemiological relevance of the topic for public health, our aim is, based on the dosage andanalysis of serum tryptophan in these IBD patients, to investigate this relationship.Therefore, it is proposed, in addition to measuring serum tryptophan, the application ofquestionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Insomnia SeverityIndex and Berlin Questionnaire, Classification of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (Crohn's diseaseand ulcerative colitis) and Life Questionnaire applied to IBD, in 50 patients with inflammatorybowel diseases.Therefore, with this study, it is expected to find that the decrease in serum tryptophan levelsdue to the presence of IBD is associated with the presence of sleep disorders. We believe thatby providing material to the medical literature, strategies to improve the quality of sleep ofthese patients can be established.