Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Paper Summary:

This paper attempts to define and explain Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which affects approximately 20% of the Western population, and accounts for frequent absenteeism from work and impaired quality of life. The paper outlines how it is characterised by altered bowel habits and abdominal pain, in the absence of any other GI problems and diagnosis is based on the Rome criteria. Despite the the heterogenous nature of the disorder, the writer succeeds in giving a general overview of this disease for the reader.

From the Paper:

"Psychiatric disorders are recorded in 50-80% of patients with IBS in some studies, although a single disorder is not well defined. Anxiety, depression, somatization, and neurosis have all been recorded1. In patients with IBS, acute psychological attacks have been shown to significantly alter their gastrointestinal motility2. Drossman et al found that patients with IBS undergo more suffering from psychosocial distress than non-patients with IBS3. Osterberg et al, on the other hand, found that there were minute differences in psychological distresses between patients with IBS, and non-patients with IBS4. Thus, assorted studies have conclusions that vary from each other. Altered gastrointestinal motility seems to be associated with the aetiology of IBS, but is not diagnostic. Serotonin (5-HT) has been studied for its role in regulating colonic motility in humans, but it is not yet known whether alterations in the colonic 5-HT system are involved in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome5. Lincoln et al established that the total indoleamine (5-HT plus its metabolite 5-HIAA) concentration in the sigmoid colon in patients undergoing partial or total colectomy for treatment of idiopathic constipation, attributed to IBS, was considerably higher than in normal subjects6. In unstimulated conditions, the colonic myoelectrical and motor activity are normal, whereas under stimulated conditions, IBS patients shown more abnormalities than normal subjects7. Lanng et al, found that all investigations regarding motility disorders showed variation, supporting the general theory of IBS being a broad-spectrum motility disorder."

More papers on Irritable Bowel Syndrome:

• Essay # 29369 : "Irritable Bowel Syndrome"
• Analytical Essay # 123781 : "Pharmacotherapy for Bowel Disorders"
• Comparison Essay # 34447 : "Crohn's Disease and IBS"

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