IBS Relief: Gut Reaction
Reported May 07, 2010
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — A place some refer to as “second brain” of the body may not lie where you expect it to. Most of us who associate serotonin with brain neurology are surprised to learn more than 95 percent of the body’s serotonin occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, which has a complex neuronal circuit, much like the brain.
Now a Mayo Clinic research team has identified a number of genetic variants in serotonin genes that they believe are key players in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
IBS is one of the most common chronic disorders of the digestive tract. It can cause years of discomfort or pain, limit a person personally and professionally, and cost millions nationally in medical costs and lost time.
“It’s been known that some drugs that alter serotonin levels in the body also have an effect on motility, thus prompting IBS-like symptoms, but the genetic and molecular mechanism for IBS was unclear,” study presenter Yuri Saito, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, was quoted as saying.
Using a familiar analogy, Dr. Saito explained, “Rather than sending out a few patrol cars to look for culprits by rounding up ‘the usual suspects,’ we launched a genetic dragnet that took an objective, unbiased look at a broader range of possibilities.”
The researchers found a number of previously unknown IBS associations. They concluded that many more serotonin-related genes were implicated in IBS than first thought. The implicated genes relate to serotonin synthesis, metabolism and receptors. The researchers also found IBS may be caused by multiple genes, and there may be distinct as well as overlapping molecular mechanisms that cause the diarrhea and constipation that are the two major symptoms of IBS.
The findings offer future researchers specific targets for drug development or other therapies to combat IBS.
SOURCE: Presented at Digestive Disease Week, New Orleans, May 4, 2010