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Researchers have discovered 听the immune system is defective in听people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, which is a major reason why sufferers听have ongoing issues with pain.
The听research from the听University听of Adelaide is听the first of its kind in the world and could also explain why听some painkillers may not offer satisfactory relief to sufferers.
Irritable听bowel syndrome (IBS) affects up to 10 per cent of the community. There are different forms of IBS听but all of them involve unexplained gut pain, which often has the greatest听impact on sufferers' quality of life.
Scientists听in the University's Nerve-Gut Research Laboratory have now demonstrated the听mechanisms involved, and the differences between the immune pain response in听healthy people and those suffering from IBS. The results of their work have been published in the journal听Brain,听Behavior, and Immunity.
"This听study is the first to give us a real understanding of the interaction between听the immune system and pain symptoms in IBS patients," says lead author Dr听Patrick Hughes, NHMRC Peter Doherty Fellow with the University's School of Medicine.
"The听gut contains specialised immune cells, known as monocytes and macrophages. Our research has shown that in healthy听people, these immune cells normally secrete opioid chemicals,听like morphine, that block pain. But in听people with IBS, the opioid production by these cells is defective," he听says.
"So听it's no wonder that people with IBS are experiencing ongoing periods of听unexplained pain. And if the immune听system is defective, it may also mean that painkilling medications taken by the听patient to relieve their symptoms are not being adequately converted to pain
relief."
The听research, upported by the National Health and Medical Research Council听(NHMRC),听involved samples from more than 100 people, half of them healthy and听half suffering from IBS.
Dr听Hughes says the听exact cause of pain in IBS sufferers remains unknown, "but we have now听confirmed, and detailed, information about the important role of the immune听system in this pain response".
"It's听our hope that this work could eventually lead to more targeted treatments for听IBS sufferers, to help treat or prevent the long-term pain they听experience," he says.
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