Hypersensitivity and hyperreactivity in the irritable bowel syndrome: An opportunity for drug discovery

The gastrointestinal tract of many patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is hypersensitive to different stimuli. The mechanisms of this hypersensitivity are unclear, but could involve enteric, visceral afferent/efferent, spinal and/or central nervous systems. Such complexity, the absence of animal models or anatomical, molecular or genetic markers of IBS, means that it is difficult to create new types of drugs which specifically treat the condition of IBS. To help in this process, current pre-clinical and early-clinical approaches are evaluated in terms of their ability to intervene within the gut-spinal cord/brain axis and inhibit gastrointestinal 'hypersensitivity' and 'hyperreactivity'. Thus, by developing a rational process the pharmaceutical industry may better understand how to design truly effective drugs for the treatment of IBS.