Intestinal fungal dysbiosis as a potential contributor to chronic LOW back pain: a case series
Abstract
Background and Aims. Chronic low back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is commonly attributed to structural or degenerative spinal conditions. However, in many patients imaging findings do not fully explain symptom severity. Emerging evidence suggests that alterations in the gut microbiome may contribute to systemic inflammation and chronic pain states through mechanisms involving immune activation and gut barrier dysfunction.Methods. Case Presentation We report four female patients with chronic low back pain of unclear structural etiology who also presented with gastrointestinal symptoms including bloating, dyspepsia, abdominal discomfort, and altered bowel habits. All patients had persistent lumbar pain despite conventional management, including analgesics, physical therapy, and spinal interventional procedures such as lumbar facet or epidural blocks. Imaging findings demonstrated mild or nonspecific degenerative changes insufficient to explain the severity of symptoms. Microbiome and gastrointestinal evaluations revealed intestinal dysbiosis in all cases. Case 1: Mixed dysbiosis characterized by Helicobacter pylori infection, Candida overgrowth, increased pathogenic and commensal bacterial flora, IgA deficiency, and hypochlorhydria. Case 2: Stool microbiome analysis revealed mixed dysbiosis with a Dysbiosis Index of 3, decreased butyrate-producing bacteria, reduced butyrate percentage (10%), elevated fecal calprotectin (102 μg/g), and acidic stool pH…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a case series, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Bile Acid 7α-Dehydroxylating Gut Bacteria Secrete Antibiotics that Inhibit Clostridium difficile: Role of Secondary Bile Acids
- Ketogenic diet alleviates colitis by reduction of colonic group 3 innate lymphoid cells through altering gut microbiome
- Altered gut microbiome composition and function are associated with gut barrier dysfunction in healthy relatives of patients with Crohn's disease
- Diet, obesity, and the gut microbiome as determinants modulating metabolic outcomes in a non-human primate model
- Immune Impairment Associated with Vitamin A Deficiency: Insights from Clinical Studies and Animal Model Research
- Glyphosate-based herbicides influence antioxidants, reproductive hormones and gut microbiome but not reproduction: A long-term experiment in an avian model
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.