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IBS

Abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 19, page 350 (2022)Cite this article

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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects 10–15% of the general population worldwide and is characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits. Abdominal pain is considered the core IBS symptom by the Rome IV criteria, and its severity constitutes a major driver for care-seeking behaviour in patients with IBS. Early mechanistic studies mainly focused on understanding the causes of motility disorders at the cellular and molecular level. However, gut motor abnormalities were poorly correlated with patients’ abdominal pain and discomfort. As psychological factors highly influence colonic sensitivity, it was considered that the prominent mechanism of abdominal pain was related to the central nervous system. Thus, research on centrally acting visceral analgesics was thought to be needed, rather than focusing on peripheral inputs.

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References

Original article

  • Barbara, G. et al. Activated mast cells in proximity to colonic nerves correlate with abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology 126, 693–702 (2004)

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Related article

  • Cibert-Goton, V. et al. Pain severity correlates with biopsy-mediated colonic afferent activation but not psychological scores in patients with IBS-D. Clin. Transl Gastroenterol. 12, e00313 (2021)

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  1. Institute of Digestive Health Research, IRSD, INSERM U1220, Toulouse, France

    Nathalie Vergnolle

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  1. Nathalie Vergnolle
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Correspondence to Nathalie Vergnolle.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Vergnolle, N. Abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 19, 350 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-022-00599-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-022-00599-6

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