Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Role of Vagus Nerve Stimulation.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an accepted therapy for the treatment of refractory forms of epilepsy and depression. The brain-gut axis is increasingly being studied as a possible etiological factor of chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). A significant percentage of IBD patients lose response to treatments or experience side effects.

COVID-19 and the enteric system: rapidly propagating issues.

The newly described SARS-CoV-2 respiratory virus is now righteously presenting as an ominous threat, based on the speed with which it originated a zoonosis from bats; advancing at a similar rate, the virus has placed mankind before a pandemic, with an infection toll of some 431 million, and a lethality of 5,9 million (as of February 25, 2022). The size of the harm that this agent can unleash against us is appallingly wide, from brain ischemia to foot chilblain, passing by heart massive infarction. Designing a possible response, we reappraised the well-known equation depression-inflammation, and tested the hypothesis that an upgraded ease-of-mind might help reduce the host's hospitality towards SARS-CoV-2.

Modulation of the gut microbiota: opportunities and regulatory aspects.

The human gut is an intensively colonized organ containing microorganisms that can be health-promoting or pathogenic. This feature led to the development of functional foods aiming to fortify the former category at the expense of the latter. Since long, cultured products, including probiotics fortification, have been used for humans as live microbial feed additions.