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Selected Publication:
Bokic, T.
Reizdarmsyndrom - Ursachen und Therapie
Humanmedizin; [ Diplomarbeit ] Medical University of Graz; 2014. pp.72
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- Authors Med Uni Graz:
- Advisor:
- Schicho Rudolf
- Altmetrics:
- Abstract:
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), also known as spastic colon, is currently one of the most common problems of the digestive system in the western world. About two out of ten people in Europe suffer from IBS. Women are more affected than men. In 1950, the Rocky Mountain Medical Journal was one of the first journals that published about IBS. There were patients included who evolved IBS-like symptoms, without a recognized infection. Afterwards other theories were postulated. IBS was regarded as a comorbidity with psychosomatic or other mental disorders. Nowadays, it is known that IBS belongs to the functional gastrointestinal disorders and can develop at any age. Most people though develop their first symptoms between the age of 20 and 35. However, no organic cause has yet been found. In connection with the stool consistency, IBS can be divided into four subgroups: IBS-C (constipation predominant), IBS-D (diarrhoea-predominant), IBS-M (mixed type), and IBS-U (unsubtyped). Mechanisms thought to cause IBS include a deranged brain-gut signalling, hypersensitivity of sensory afferents, bacterial gastroenteritis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), genetic alterations and food sensitivity. IBS can be influenced by psychological factors, such as stress, which may also play a part in the ethology. New possible targets for therapy of IBS subtypes include the endocannabinoid system, i.e. a treatment with cannabinoid compounds that bind to cannabinoid receptors to reduce exaggerated bowel motility and secretion. Latest studies show that through acute activation of cannabinoid receptors by anandamide gastrointestinal motility in mice is reduced (Troy-Fioramonti et al.2014, Diabetes, in press.).