Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Comprehensive video from stanford univ. on ibs causes

Actually the "brain gut interaction" is an established fact, just by functioning alone. In IBS both are operational to cause the symptoms. All pain is processed in the brain for one and stress can effect gut functioning in all people, but especially IBS.

What is not toally established is where the biomarkers are, like structural changes, in the gut brain or the brain or even the spinal cord.

The infection part really had to do with post infectious IBS where a person enteric infection, like dysentary and that goes away and a person gets PI IBS.

Sibo is a different condition, but some IBSers have that and IBS. Sibo is also a consequence and other problems can cause sibo that have nothing to do with IBS.

Part of that on bacteria was not totally sibo either, some was some of it wasn't, some of it was just about bacteria in the gut.

The presentation was from 2008, but they have known for many years IBS is a brain gut axis disorder, but its figuring out where all the problems are, like serotonin regulation, mast cells, the HPA axis, spinal cord and a lot more.

This is new from 2010. ULCA got a big grant to study the brain aspects and UNC the gut aspects. Then they are collaborating.

Irritable bowel syndrome associated with brain changes

Irritable bowel syndrome has been a tough disorder to understand. Studies have failed to show any structural problems in the gut that would account for the symptoms of pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation. However, the disorder is real, affecting as many as 15% of Americans.

A new study has found a possible connection between IBS and the brain. Researchers at McGill University and UCLA used MRI scans to reveal changes in the brains of women with the disorder. The researchers took MRI scans of 55 IBS patients and 48 healthy women for comparison. The women with IBS tended to have different amounts of brain gray matter in certain areas; for example, decreases in gray matter in parts of the brain that govern attention and areas that suppress pain.

A link between the brain and chronic pain has been identified in other disorders, such as lower back pain, migraines, fibromyalgia and hip pain. The study on IBS suggests that, like these other conditions, the problem may be due to the brain's inability to inhibit the pain response.

"Discovering structural changes in the brain, whether they are primary or secondary to the gastrointestinal symptoms, demonstrates an 'organic' component to IBS and supports the concept of a brain-gut disorder," Emeran Mayer, a co-author of the study at UCLA, said in a news release. "Also, the findings remove the idea once and for all that IBS symptoms are not real and are 'only psychological.' The findings will give us more insight into better understanding IBS."
By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/health/boostershots/la-heb-bowel-20100722,0,2369726.story

also just fyi, but a scientific theory is differnt then most people think when they think theory. Its not a hypothesis, but based on fact. Whereas a hypothesis is a stage to a scientific theory. But a a scientific theory is based on observable facts that have been tested and peer reviewed.

--------------------
My website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com

Print Remind Me Notify Moderator