Inflammatory bowel diseases and brain-gut axis

The influence of stress on inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is reviewed. In experimental forms of colitis in rats, stress reactivated the disease. A study of stable IBD patients who were followed for over five years explored the influence of stress on exacerbating the disease. Those patients with high prolonged stressful life events were found to have a 90% recurrence rate of their colitis as compared to only 40% recurrence in low stress patients. Some of the mediators of stress include VIP, TNFalpha, heat shock proteins, glucocorticoid and catecholamines. Stress was shown to increase intestinal permeability to markers such as Cr-EDTA, HRP and dextran 10,000 in rats. In addition, stress increases the permeability of intestinal M-cells. Finally, stress increased the permeability of Paneth cells to HRP. Since Paneth cells synthesize NOD2 mRNA and protein, stress may play a role in the genesis or reactivation of Crohn's disease involving the terminal ileum. Brain-gut interactions via neural, hormonal and cytokine signals can diminish the mucosal protective factors and increase the permeability of luminal antigens into the intestinal epithelial and immune cells. Stress appears to play a key role in exacerbating and accentuating the intestinal inflammation in IBD through brain-gut interactions.