Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Not Yet Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07337707

New Microbiota-endocrine Axis in Fructose Malabsorption-caused Visceral Hypersensitivity in Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects around 4% of the general population and remains the most common functional bowel disorder. It is defined by the Rome criteria as the presence of abdominal pain associated with transit disorders. The impact on quality of life and the associated costs make it a public health problem.

Visceral hypersensitivity is one of the functional markers of the disease and plays a part in the genesis of symptoms. It could therefore also be a therapeutic target to be explored. Diet and the intestinal microbiota are also part of the recognised pathophysiological mechanisms of this disease. Carbohydrates malabsorbed by the intestine are metabolised by the microbiota, which may contribute to the genesis of symptoms. Among these carbohydrates, fructose appears to be of particular interest. Its absorption capacity is limited, yet fructose consumption is increasing. Fructose malabsorption at a dose of 25 g is present in 22% of IBS patients. Fructose malabsorption is also associated with visceral hypersensitivity. However, the mechanism of this association remains unknown. In models of malabsorbed mice with visceral hypersensitivity, an increase in cholecystokinin was found in the terminal ileum and cecum, suggesting a potential role for this hormone in this model of IBS. However, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood.

The objective is to determine if microbiota signature is specific of visceral hypersensitivity associated with fructose malabsorption in IBS patients.

60 patients with IBS will be included in the study in 4 groups:

1. n=15 patients with visceral hypersensitivity and fructose malabsorption 2. n=15 patients with visceral hypersensitivity and without fructose malabsorption 3. n=15 patients without visceral hypersensitivity and with fructose malabsorption 4. n=15 patients without visceral hypersensitivity and without fructose malabsorption

All patients will filled validated questionnaires and 4-days food diary. They will also have a urinary permeability test (lactulose/mannitol test) and collected stools samples for microbiota analysis.

Not Yet Recruiting

Trial opening soon.

Get Notified

Key information

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

For all groups:

  • Patients with IBS defined by current Rome criteria (currently IV)
  • Adult, aged 18 to 75
  • Regulatory criteria :
  • Membership of a social security scheme
  • Adult having read and understood the information letter and signed the consent form
  • Woman of childbearing age with effective contraception for the duration of the study such as oestroprogestins, intrauterine device, tubal ligation, vasectomised partner or sexual abstinence (no heterosexual intercourse for 1 month and a negative urine pregnancy test at inclusion).
  • Postmenopausal women: confirmatory diagnosis (non-medically induced amenorrhoea for at least 12 months prior to the inclusion visit or biologically documented)
  • Women of childbearing age who have been rendered surgically infertile (e.g. hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, bilateral oophorectomy).

For the IBS group with fructose malabsorption and visceral hypersensitivity (named group of interest, MalF-HyperSens) (1):

  • 25g fructose breath test in favour of fructose malabsorption
  • Rectal barostat finding visceral hypersensitivity

For the IBS group with fructose malabsorption and without visceral hypersensitivity (known as the MalF-NormoSens group) (2):

  • Fructose breath test at 25g dose in favour of fructose malabsorption
  • Rectal barostat finding no visceral hypersensitivity

For the IBS group without fructose malabsorption and visceral hypersensitivity (named NormoF-HyperSens group) (3):

  • Fructose breath test at 25g dose in favour of no fructose malabsorption
  • Rectal barostat finding visceral hypersensitivity

For the IBS group without fructose malabsorption or visceral hypersensitivity (called the NormoF-NormoSens group) (4):

  • Fructose breath test at a dose of 25g in favour of the absence of fructose malabsorption
  • Rectal barostat finding no visceral hypersensitivity

Exclusion criteria

  • Patient who has not undergone a fructose breath test or a barostat in our department in the last 10 years.
  • Patient with organic digestive pathology (chronic inflammatory bowel disease, microscopic colitis, digestive cancer, celiac disease)
  • Systemic antibiotic use (oral, IV or IM) in the month prior to inclusion
  • Regulatory criteria :
  • Pregnant or parturient or breast-feeding woman or proven absence of contraception,
  • Person deprived of liberty by an administrative or judicial decision or person placed under court protection / sub- guardianship or curatorship,
  • Person undergoing research participating in another trial / having participated in another trial within a period of 2 weeks,
  • History of illness or psychological or sensory abnormality likely to prevent the subject from fully understanding the conditions required for participation in the protocol or preventing him/her from giving informed consent.

Treatment and study plan

urine intestinal permeability test or lactulose/mannitol test

Biological

Patients will be required to fast for 12 hours and, after emptying their bladder, patients will be asked to drink 100 mL of water containing 10 g of lactulose and 5 g of mannitol. At the patient's inclusion visit, and before the test at the V1 follow-up visit, the patient will be given an explanation with recommendations on their food intake in the 24 hours before and 24 hours during the test (urine collection). Patients will be asked not to drink for 2 hours and not to eat for 5 hours after taking the lactulose and mannitol. An exhaustive urine collection will then be carried out at the patient's home over the 24 hours following the intake of the sugars. The 24-hour urine will be collected in a plastic 24-hour urine container suitable for hospital use. This urine collection will be brought back for visit 2 the following day. On receipt of the urine, the volume of urine will be noted and the appearance of the urine recorded and stored before analysis.

blood test

Biological

A fasting blood sample will be taken in 1 x 4ml EDTA-Aprotinin tube on the morning of the urine test (V1 follow-up visit). The tube will be centrifuged within 15 minutes at 4°C and then aliquoted into 3 x 500μL tubes which will be immediately frozen at -80°C for storage in a biocollection with a view to later measuring gastrointestinal peptides such as CCK, neurotensin and GLP-1.

food diary

Other

On the day of inclusion, all patients were given a food diary to fill in. They will have to fill it in over a period of 4 days, including 1 weekend day. They will be asked to note down all the food they eat during this period, as well as the quantities. The diary will be collected at the V1 visit and will then be analysed by a dietician, who will assess the average daily consumption of fructose in g/d (total fructose consumption, consumption of fructose in excess of glucose, dietary origin of fructose).

Stool samples

Other

All patients will have their stools collected. Patients will have their stool collected at home using a collector given to them at the inclusion visit. They will have to bring back the stool within 6 hours for preparation and storage at -80°C.

Microbiota analysis

Other

Stools will be used to analyse the composition of the intestinal microbiota by sequencing amplicons from the V3-V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA.

Primary outcomes

  1. microbiota analysis

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    16S RNA gene sequencing

  2. metabolites analysis

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics

Secondary outcomes

  1. Intestinal permeability

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    lactulose-mannitol test

  2. low grade inflammation

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    fecal calprotectin

  3. fructose consumption

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    delay fructose consumption (g/D)

  4. IBS severity

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    IBS-SSS

  5. Stool consistency

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    Bristol stool form

  6. anxiety

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    STAI

  7. psychological distress

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    HAD

  8. impact on quality of life

    Time frame: from enrollment up to 18 months

    IBSQOL

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Chloé MELCHIOR, PUPH

CONTACT

[email protected]

+332 32 88 67 07

Mylene HERVET

CONTACT

[email protected]

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Rouen

Other

Collaborators

  • ANR AAPG2023
  • INRAE-Micalis AMIPEM
  • INRAE-Micalis FINE

Registry information

Acronym: ENDOLORII

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Jan 13, 2026
Registry last updated
Jan 13, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.