Study finds structural brain alterations in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Findings suggest IBS similar to other pain disorders. A large academic study has demonstrated structural changes in specific brain regions in female patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that causes pain and discomfort in the abdomen, along with diarrhea, constipation or both. A collaborative effort between UCLA and Canada's McGill University, the study appears in the July issue of the journal Gastroenterology. The findings show that IBS is associated with both decreases and increases in grey matter density in key areas of the brain involved in attention, emotion regulation, pain inhibition and the processing of visceral information. IBS affects approximately 15 percent of the U.S. population, primarily women. Currently, the condition is considered by the medical field to be a "functional" syndrome of the digestive tract not working properly rather than an "organic" disorder with structural organ changes. Efforts to identify structural or biochemical alterations in the gut have largely been unsuccessful.