The purpose of this research study is to assess whether morning bright light therapy using a wearable glasses device called a Re-Timer could potentially improve Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms and decrease intestinal permeability (leaky gut). Morning bright therapy will be administrated through a safe-wearable device called a Re-Timer. The Re-Timer glasses are lightweight and deliver blue-green light at 500nm, mimicking exposure to natural light.

The long-term objective of this proposed R24 program is to enhance our understanding of how circadian rhythm disruption contributes to vulnerability to alcohol-induced organ damage, and to explore the underlying mechanisms (e.g. microbiota) that could lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets. This knowledge aims to inform the development of innovative strategies to prevent and to treat alcohol-related pathologies.

A single weight based dose of alcohol will be given to approximate an alcohol binge (aiming to achieve a blood alcohol concentration of approximately 0.08%) to investigate downstream effects on intestinal permeability and changes in hepatic steatosis. Several studies have been performed in humans under similar conditions and looking at similar things. The PI, Dr. Garth Swanson, conducted one of these studies previously. Here, participants will be given a weight-based dose (2mL vodka per kg body weight) of alcohol, with assessment of intestinal permeability via urine collection over the 24 hours directly following alcohol consumption, assessment of changes in hepatic steatosis by evaluation with fibroscan before and after alcohol consumption, and blood markers of endotoxemia and related inflammatory markers after. The weight-based dosing of alcohol was chosen to reflect previous studies looking at the effects of a single episode of alcohol binge use, with the goal of achieving a blood alcohol concentration of approximately 0.08%, the lower limit of what is needed to be considered an acute alcohol binge.