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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

An In-vitro Preparation of Isolated Enteric Neurons and Glia from the Myenteric Plexus of the Adult Mouse
Published on: August 7, 2013
Can "functional" constipation be considered as a form of enteric neuro-gliopathy?
Gabrio Bassotti1, Vincenzo Villanacci
1Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Section, University of Perugia, Italy. gabassot@tin.it
Abstract:
Constipation has been traditionally viewed and classified as a functional or idiopathic disorder. However, evidence has been accumulating that suggests how constipation might be considered as due to abnormalities of the enteric nervous system, since alterations of this system, not evident in conventional histological examination, may be present in these patients. These abnormalities often consist in decrease or loss of the enteric glial cells, a pathological finding present in most types of constipation so far investigated. In this article we will discuss these evidences, and will try to consider constipation no more as a simple functional or idiopathic disorder but as a form of enteric neuro-gliopathy.
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