Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012 Oct;303(7):G775-85.
doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00155.2012. Epub 2012 Jul 26.

Irritable bowel syndrome: methods, mechanisms, and pathophysiology. The confluence of increased permeability, inflammation, and pain in irritable bowel syndrome

Michael Camilleri  1 , Karen Lasch, Wen Zhou
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Irritable bowel syndrome: methods, mechanisms, and pathophysiology. The confluence of increased permeability, inflammation, and pain in irritable bowel syndrome

Michael Camilleri et al. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2012 Oct.
Free article

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal ailments among those seeking health care for gastrointestinal disorders. Despite its prevalence, IBS pathophysiology is still not completely understood. Continued elucidation of IBS etiological mechanisms will lead to a greater appreciation of possible therapeutic targets. In the past decade, there has been increasing focus on the possible connection between increased intestinal mucosal permeability, inflammation, and visceral hypersensitivity. Increased permeability in subsets of IBS patients has been observed and the possible mechanisms underlying this defect are just beginning to be understood. The objectives of this review are to summarize the role of the healthy intestinal epithelium as a barrier between the lumen and the rest of the body with a focus on tight junctions; to examine the lines of evidence that suggest that different triggers lead to increased intestinal mucosal permeability and disruption of tight junctions in IBS patients; and to explore how this increased permeability may elicit immune responses that affect afferent nerves, resulting in the pain associated with IBS.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources