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Enteroendocrine cell counts correlate with visceral hypersensitivity in patients with diarrhoea‐predominant irritable bowel syndrome
Author(s) -
Park J. H.,
Rhee Pl.,
Kim G.,
Lee J. H.,
Kim Yh.,
Kim J. J.,
Rhee J. C.,
Song S. Y.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
neurogastroenterology and motility
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.489
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1365-2982
pISSN - 1350-1925
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2982.2006.00771.x
Subject(s) - irritable bowel syndrome , rectum , medicine , gastroenterology , barostat , ileum , ascending colon , enteroendocrine cell , terminal ileum , endocrine system , hormone
The objective of this study was to determine whether or not the number of enteroendocrine cells (ECs) in the gut is related to visceral hypersensitivity in patients with diarrhoea‐predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D‐IBS). Twenty‐five subjects with D‐IBS (mean, 43.1 years; 16 women, nine men) were recruited into our study, along with 13 healthy controls (mean, 40.7 years; nine women, four men). Maximally tolerable pressures were evaluated via barostat testing, and the levels of ECs were immunohistochemically identified and quantified via image analysis. The numbers of ECs between the D‐IBS subjects and the controls were not significantly different in the terminal ileum, ascending colon and rectum. However, the maximally tolerable pressures determined in the D‐IBS subjects were significantly lower than those of the control subjects ( P < 0.01), and we detected a significant relationship between the maximally tolerable pressures and the numbers of ECs in the rectum ( r = −0.37, P < 0.01). Rectal sensitivity was enhanced to a greater degree in D‐IBS patients exhibiting an elevated level of rectal ECs. This study provides some evidence to suggest that ECs play an important role in visceral hypersensitivity.