メディエイゴ

A large academic study has demonstrated structural(1) changes in specific brain(2) regions in female patients with irritable bowel syndrome(3) (IBS), a condition that causes pain and discomfort(4) in the abdomen(5), along with diarrhea(6), constipation(7) or both.

A collaborative(8) effort between UCLA(9) and Canada's McGill University, the study appears in the July issue of the journal Gastroenterology(10).

The findings show that IBS is associated with both decreases and increases in grey matter(11) density(12) in key areas of the brain involved in attention, emotion regulation, pain inhibition(13) and the processing of visceral(14) information.

IBS affects approximately(15) 15 percent of the U.S. population, primarily(16) women. Currently(17), the condition is considered by the medical field to be a "functional(18)" syndrome(19) of the digestive tract(20) not working properly rather than an "organic(21)" disorder(22) with structural organ(23) changes. Efforts to identify structural or biochemical(24) alterations(25) in the gut(26) have largely been unsuccessful(27). Even though the pathophysiology(28) is not completely understood, it is generally agreed that IBS represents an alteration in brain-gut(29) interactions(30).

These study findings, however, show actual structural changes to the brain, which places IBS in the category of other pain disorders, such as lower back pain(31), temporomandibular joint disorder(32), migraines(33) and hip pain(34) -- conditions in which some of the same anatomical(35) brain changes have been observed, as well as other changes. A recent, smaller study suggested structural brain changes in IBS, but a larger definitive(36) study hadn't been completed until now.