Background:Irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal (GI) and non-GI disorders such as functional dyspepsia, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular joint disorder, interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome are known as functional pain syndromes.
They commonly coexist within the same individual. The pathophysiologic mechanisms of these disorders are not well understood, but it has been hypothesized that they share a common pathogenesis.
Purpose: The objective of this review is to discuss the proposed pathophysiologic mechanisms, which have been similarly studied in these conditions. These mechanisms include enhanced pain perception, altered regional brain activation, infectious etiologies, dysregulations in immune and neuroendocrine function, and genetic susceptibility. Studies suggest that these functional disorders are multifactorial, but factors which increase the vulnerability of developing these conditions are shared.
Written by:
Kim SE, Chang L. Are you the author?
Oppenheimer Family Center of Neurobiology of Stress, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Reference: Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2012 Aug 2. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2982.2012.01993.x
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22863120
UroToday.com Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Section
