Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0030193 (pain)
 261,466 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Because the prevalence of the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in the general population is unknown, a questionnaire of intestinal symptoms was administered to a stratified random sample of 1058 women and 838 men. Subjects were asked if they had consulted a physician about such symptoms. One or more symptoms occurred frequently in 47% of women and 27% of men. Diagnosable IBS, defined as three or more symptoms, was present in 13% of women and 5% of men. Abdominal pain was the most common symptom, and recurrent intestinal pain was reported by 20% of women and 10% of men. All symptoms were more common in women except runny or watery stools. Most symptoms including pain were unrelated to age. Only half the people with diagnosable IBS had consulted a physician about it. The likelihood of consulting a physician was directly proportional to the number of symptoms and was similar in men and women after controlling for the number of symptoms. Of individual symptoms, the one most strongly associated with consulting was abdominal pain, especially in men. It is concluded that IBS is prevalent at all ages, especially in women, that it is nearly always painful, and that people with multiple symptoms are more likely to consult a physician.
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PMID:Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in a British urban community: consulters and nonconsulters. 158 15

The irritable bowel syndrome is above all a syndrome of intestinal pain. Although the intestinal disorders described in this syndrome have prompted several studies focused on intestinal motility, little has been learned from these studies increasing our knowledge on the pathophysiology of this syndrome. The demonstration of colonic hypermotility or various and slightly significant modification in small intestinal motility do not add much to our knowledge. For one, why are clinical signs such as abdominal pain, bowel movement disorders, and abdominal distension, and most likely other motor disorders, found in numerous normal subjects (14 to 30 percent of the normal population) who do not seed medical advice for intestinal signs which are, one must admit, not very alarming? Are patients who complain of functional digestive tract disorders, constantly seeking medical advice and heavy medication consumers, mentally ill (emotional patients, hypochondriacs, depressive, hysterics), are they just under great stress, or do they indeed have chronic pain pathology? A number of studies show clearly that the last hypothesis is most likely true: patients with the irritable bowel syndrome (i.e. hypersensitive bowel) have a chronic pain pathology because their threshold perception of pain is lower than in the normal population. The threshold tolerance to distension of the pelvic colon is lower in these patients than in asymptomatic patients. The gastric transmural potential is lower in patients complaining of functional intestinal disorders, and it is known that a fragile mucosa is highly sensitive to normally innocuous stimuli.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[The hypersensitive bowel]. 221 Jan 81

Small doses of the carbohydrate lactulose are widely used in the clinical setting to assess small bowel transit time because lactulose is not absorbed by the small intestine and its arrival in the intestine can be detected non-invasively by breath hydrogen testing. In this study, doses of this safe, widely used substance higher than those typically administered for transit tests were given to 12 healthy young adult men to produce symptoms of gas and intestinal distention similar to those commonly experienced by patients with irritable bowel syndrome and recurrent abdominal pain. Comparison of subjective and physiological responses to the administration of 0 and 30 g of lactulose in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial demonstrated that the 30 g lactulose dose produced significant increases in a number of measures reflecting the intra-intestinal pain stimulus. The results of the present study indicate that lactulose is a realistic and ethically acceptable stimulus for the production of transient mild abdominal pain in the laboratory.
Pain 1989 Sep
PMID:Psychophysiologic responses to a realistic laboratory abdominal pain stimulus. 281 39

The mechanisms leading to positive effects of probiotics in irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease have not been clarified, but the possible involvement of cell wall components is widely discussed. Reduction of the D-alanine content of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) in Lactobacillus plantarum (Dlt(-) mutant) enhanced its anti-inflammatory properties in a mouse colitis model. Another lactobacillus species inhibited visceral pain perception in response to colorectal distension (CRD) in rats. Therefore, we investigated if LTA modification influences the constitutive intestinal pain perception in addition to modulation of cytokine release. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged with L. plantarum, L. plantarum Dlt(-) mutant or buffer control, respectively and the responses to CRD were tested in this non-inflammatory model. Tumour necrosis factor (TNF), interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-10 release were measured in colon tissue homogenates and upon anti-CD3/CD28 activation of isolated splenocytes and mesenteric lymphocytes. Control animals showed significant bradycardia following noxious CRD, whereas only the L. plantarum Dlt(-) mutant inhibited the response. The mutant also decreased the activation-induced release of TNF and IFN-gamma from mesenteric T cells and the IL-10 concentration in colonic tissue, while increasing the activation-induced secretion of IL-10 in splenocytes and mesenteric lymphocytes and the baseline IL-10 release of splenocytes. In conclusion, d-alanine depletion of LTA in L. plantarum inhibited visceral pain perception in healthy, non-inflamed rats. Regardless of the non-inflammatory nature of the model decreased visceral pain perception was seen in parallel with anti-inflammatory properties.
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PMID:The D-alanine content of lipoteichoic acid is crucial for Lactobacillus plantarum-mediated protection from visceral pain perception in a rat colorectal distension model. 1831 44

The plant Cannabis has been known for centuries to be beneficial in a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, including emesis, diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal pain. delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychotropic component of Cannabis, acts via at least two types of cannabinoid receptors, named CB1 and CB2 receptors. CB1 receptors are located primarily on central and peripheral neurons (including the enteric nervous system) where they modulate neurotransmitter release, whereas CB2 receptors are concerned with immune function, inflammation and pain. The discovery of endogenous ligands [i.e. anandamide and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG)] for these receptors indicates the presence of a functional endogenous cannabinoid system in the gastrointestinal tract. Anatomical and functional evidence suggests the presence of CB1 receptors in the myenteric plexus, which are associated with cholinergic neurons in a variety of species, including in humans. Activation of prejunctional CB1 receptors reduces excitatory enteric transmission (mainly cholinergic transmission) in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract. Consistently, in vivo studies have shown that cannabinoids reduce gastrointestinal transit in rodents through activation of CB1, but not CB2, receptors. However, in pathophysiological states, both CB1 and CB2 receptors could reduce the increase of intestinal motility induced by inflammatory stimuli. Cannabinoids also reduce gastrointestinal motility in randomized clinical trials. Overall, modulation of the gut endogenous cannabinoid system may provide a useful therapeutic target for disorders of gastrointestinal motility.
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PMID:Cannabinoids and gastrointestinal motility: animal and human studies. 1892 47