Review
Current insights in to the pathophysiology of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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* Corresponding author: Maria Gazouli mgazouli@med.uoa.gr
- † Equal contributors
1 Laboratory of Biology, University of Athens, School of Medicine and Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Greece
2 2nd Gastroenterology Department, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
Gut Pathogens 2010, 2:3 doi:10.1186/1757-4749-2-3
Published: 13 May 2010Abstract
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) represents a functional disorder of gastrointestinal tract without the presence of an anatomic defect, in which abdominal pain is relieved with defecation and is associated with altered bowel habits.
IBS includes a wide range of symptoms while its pathophysiology is very complicated. Recent studies indicate that the most important mechanisms include visceral sensitivity, abnormal gut motility and autonomous nervous system dysfunction. The interactions between these three mechanisms make bowel's function susceptible to many exogenous and endogenous factors like gastrointestinal flora, feeding and psychosocial factors. Recent data indicate that according to the above mechanisms, the influence of genetic factors and polymorphisms of human DNA in the development of IBS is equally important.