[eric]

Douglas Garstang , here is some important info on this very subject. There is a lot of information on this and IBS. There is another good article but their site is down at the moment. http://www.ibsgroup.org/other/usnews000403.htm http://www.med.unc.edu/wrkunits/2depts/med...aldisorders.htm http://www.med.unc.edu/wrkunits/2depts/med...rymediators.htm

 

[eric]

Douglas Garstang , just some more info, there are also 25 functional conditions that can overlap or where a person has symptoms that don't always fit into specific conditions, its possible about the CFAP ect and why the testing is so very important.The connection to the brain and the gut via endorphines and neurotransmitters is quite real and can be a source of problems or a contributing factor. http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/cfap.htm http://aboutibs.org/Publications/clinicalIssues.html http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/motility.htm These are some pet scans of IBS."Neuroimaging has provided evidence of physiological differences between normal individuals and those suffering from IBS in the way a visceral stimulus (ie, rectal distention) is processed in the brain.[14,15] Initial data from positron emission tomography (PET) scans demonstrated increased activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) among normal individuals, comparedto IBS patients. The ACC is a cerebral cortical area that is rich in opiate receptors and is thought to be a major component of cognitive circuits relating to perception as well as descending spinal pathways involving pain. More recently, fMRI was used to demonstrate increased activity in the ACC, prefrontal (PF), and insular cortex areas, and in the thalamus of IBS patients compared to normal individuals."

 

[eric]

Doug, this is important."An increase in inflammatory mediators alone is insufficient to explain the pathogenesis of IBS." http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/infl...rymediators.htm

 

[eric]

Doug, that IBS is not completely generated from inflammation although it can act as a trigger, it also more importantly seems to be generated by a dysregulation of neurotransmitters between the communication the gut has back and forth with the brain which seems to also in part trigger the inflammation driven responces.

 

[eric]

This is a good and in depth on IBS and worth reading in depth.Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Taking Concepts Into Clinical Practice CMEChairperson: Michael D. Gershon, MD; Faculty: Kevin W. Olden, MD; Walter L. Peterson, MD; Nicholas J. Talley, MD, PhD; Gervais Tougas, MD, CM, FRCPC http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/1985

 

[eric]

Douglas, in IBS symptoms are not all overt stress, its more daily emotions which are processed in areas of the brain that also process pain.Take some time also and look through that last link I posted, there is a lot on all this there that helps to explain somethings and connections. The pain is caused in part in how the gut is sending chemical electrical signals to it and back, which can be altered for good or for bad by the brain.This one will also on IBS and stress emotions which are extremely complex connections.The Neurobiology of Stress and Emotions By: Emeran A. Mayer, M.D., UCLA Mind Body Collaborative Research Center, UCLA School of Medicine, California http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/stress.html