# Powerful Contractions One Cause of Irritable Bowel Pain



## Kerri (Oct 1, 1999)

Powerful Contractions One Cause Of Irritable Bowel Pain American Journal of Gastroenterology06/12/2001By Elda HauschildtPowerful contractions are one cause of abdominal pain in patients with irritable bowel syndrome who exhibit both abdominal pain and diarrhea.University of Rochester Medical Centre researchers report dysmotility occurs in these patients.Dysmotility is characterised by significantly increased occurrences of powerful, high-amplitude propagating contractions (HAPCs). These parallel rapid colon transit and are accompanied by the abdominal pain.Colon dysmotility has been recognised as a pathophysiological factor in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the researchers point out. It has not been characterised, however.They investigated motility patterns in 10 IBS patients who had both abdominal pain and frequent defecation or diarrhea. Results were compared with those of 10 healthy volunteers.Investigators used a recording catheter to measure motility responses in the transverse, descending and sigmoid colon under fluoroscopy. First basal recordings were taken over two hours. Then responses after cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) and a meal were recorded for a further three hours.Colon transit times were determined using radio-opaque markers. HAPCs were correlated with abdominal pain. Effects of CCK-8 on muscle contractions were also studied, via colon muscle strips.Researchers found that the motility index and the mean number and peak amplitude of HAPCs in the IBS patients were significantly greater than in controls."These abnormalities paralleled markedly shortened colonic transit times," they report. "Abdominal pain coincided with more than 90 percent of HAPCs."They also note that dose-dependent muscle contraction by CCK-8 was "profoundly suppressed by loxiglumide and atropine." Thus CCK-8 seems to be mediated via the colonic enteric nervous system. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2001; 96: 1499-1506.


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