# Stress Increases Visceral Sensitivity in IBS Patients



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

FYIStress Increases Visceral Sensitivity in IBS Patients NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 30 - Acute stress appears to alter gut-specific efferent autonomic innervation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and in healthy controls. However, UK researchers report that only IBS patients show heightened visceral sensation."Stress is an important causative factor in IBS," Dr. Anton V. Emmanuel, of St. Mark's Hospital, Harrow and colleagues note in the December issue of Gastroenterology. However, "it remains unknown whether stress-related changes in gut function are mediated by altered autonomic efferent gut-specific innervation."The researchers examined the effect of acute physical and psychological stress on autonomic innervation and visceral sensitivity in 24 patients with constipation-predominant IBS and 12 healthy controls.Baseline perception of stress was higher among patients with IBS. During physical stress, rectal mucosal blood flow, a measure of gut-specific innervation, decreased by 29.6% in IBS patients and 28.7% in controls. During psychological stress, the corresponding decreases were 24.4% and 23.5%.During physical stress, patients with IBS experienced decreased rectal perception thresholds compared to controls (23.2% versus 0.6%) as well as decreased and rectal pain thresholds (27.0% versus 1.3%).During psychological stress, patients with IBS had reduced thresholds for rectal perception (19.4% versus 8%) and rectal pain (28.4% versus 3.4%). They also had increased anal perception thresholds during physical and psychological stress."Visceral sensitivity but not somatic sensitivity is heightened in patients with IBS in response to stress," Dr. Emmanuel and colleagues conclude." This, they add suggests "involvement of a different regulator mechanism, either central or peripheral."Gastroenterology 2004;127:1695-1703.


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