Irritable
bowel syndrome (IBS) affects 10 to 15 percent of the U.S. population, predominately women, and can produce severe
abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits. No physical abnormalities can be identified on examination, and patients are often left with suboptimal symptomatic
treatments and the idea that the
pain is “all in your head.”
Well, maybe it is.
A new study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect differences in brain
activity in IBS patients compared to healthy ones. When predictable, mild abdominal pain was stimulated in healthy women, MRI showed decreased activity in the insula, amygdala and brainstem, areas associated with emotion and pain. IBS patients did not show decreased activity in these areas, suggesting they are hard-wired to
respond more strongly to pain than others.
The idea that the errors in the perception of pain are the underlying cause of IBS has been around a long time, but this is one of the first studies to
demonstrated altered brain activity in the disease. Researchers hope that this information may lead to medications targeted at the brain centers or peripheral nerves responsible for the abnormal signaling.
Patients with IBS often feel left out in the cold. Current treatments for the symptoms of IBS only work temporarily and only in some patients. Many studies have demonstrated a link between anxiety, depression and IBS. Perhaps the link lies in an incorrect, hyperactive perception of pain and danger resulting in increased sensitivity to both emotional and physical pain.
I myself have a long history of abdominal pain that fails to respond to most treatments. I’ve undergone a battery of medical tests, all with no definitive results. IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion, given when all other ausative factors are eliminated as possibilities, so I know that my pain could easily be diagnosed as IBS.
More summaries about the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Linked to Abnormal Brain Activity