Autonomic Nervous System Imbalance

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by hyperextensible skin, joint hypermobility and additional connective tissue manifestations. For unclear reasons, hEDS is associated with many gastrointestinal (GI) and autonomic nervous system (ANS) complaints such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). This study will address the clinical relationship between hEDS/Hypermobile Spectrum Disorders and autonomic regulation and see if there is a benefit of two forms of non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation therapies to reduce GI symptoms in hEDS and POTS. The study will also investigate plausible effects of these nerve stimulation therapies on gastric function and autonomic signaling.

Ulcerative colitis(UC) is one of the two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD), which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Previous studies have demonstrated that more than 60% of IBD patients have sleep disorders, which is emerging as an important risk factor for disease recurrence and poor prognosis. However, the mechanisms by which sleep disorders regulates the occurrence and development of IBD remain undefined. This study aims to explore the clinical characteristics of ulcerative colitis patients with sleep disorders based on the microbiota-gut-brain axis, to analyze the effects of sleep disorders on autonomic nervous function, gut microbiota, and metabolites in UC patients.