Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0022104 (irritable bowel syndrome)
 8,033 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The enteric nervous system (ENS) can be thought of as the third component of the autonomic nervous system. It is a vast network of neurons widely dispersed throughout the gut. The ENS is a dominant regulator of gut function through the action of peptide and non-peptide neurotransmitters. The most intensively studied roles of the ENS have been the regulation of secretory processes, such as gastric acid secretion, and motility. It is clear, however, that the ENS plays a broader role in the regulation of other gut functions, including mucosal defense, the gut immune response, and sphincter function. Alterations in the regulation of gut function by the ENS are likely or suspected in a number of conditions, including achalasia, Hirschsprung's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, Chagas' disease, chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction, biliary dyskinesia, tachygastria, and irritable bowel syndrome. Improved knowledge of the pathophysiology of these troublesome conditions makes effective therapy more likely in the future.
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PMID:Neuroendocrine design of the gut. 167 22

The successful management of constipation depends on defining the patient's symptoms, excluding secondary causes, and characterizing the abnormality of defecation. Constipation without gut dilatation is found commonly in pregnancy, the elderly, and those with the irritable bowel syndrome. In addition, there is a group of patients that has intractable, severe idiopathic constipation. Some have 'slow transit' and open their bowels every 1-4 weeks. Others have a defecatory disorder with normal colonic transit. Constipation with gut dilatation is seen in Hirschsprung's disease, idiopathic megarectum and megacolon, chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction and Chagas' disease. Constipation can also result from disturbance to the autonomic outflow of the gastrointestinal tract, and colonic function may be also affected by psychological factors. This review article discusses the presentation, investigation and management of patients with constipation.
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PMID:Review article: the management of constipation in adults. 828 Aug 17