The Gut Microbiota and Chronic Pain.

Purpose of review: To examine the effects and interactions between gut microbia and chronic pain.

Recent findings: The gut microbiome has been an area of interest in both the scientific and general audience due to a growing body of evidence suggesting its influence in a variety of health and disease states. Communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and gut microbiome is said to be bidirectional, in what is referred to as the gut-brain axis. Chronic pain is a prevalent costly personal and public health burden and so, there is a vested interest in devising safe and efficacious treatments. Numerous studies, many of which are animal studies, have been conducted to examine the gut microbiome's role in the pathophysiology of chronic pain states, such as neuropathy, inflammation, visceral pain, etc. As the understanding of this relationship grows, so does the potential for therapeutic targeting of the gut microbiome in chronic pain.