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Updated: May 28, 2026

In vitro Functional Characterization of Mouse Colorectal Afferent Endings
Published on: January 21, 2015
Anorectal motility and sensation abnormalities and its correlation with anorectal symptoms in patients with systemic
Hanaa S Sallam1, Terry A McNearney, Jiande Z Chen
1Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0655, USA.
Abstract:
Gastrointestinal (GI) hypomotility and symptoms are common in Scleroderma (SSc) patients yet so far uncorrelated. Eight SSc patients and matched controls were queried about their GI dysmotility symptoms and quality of life (QoL) and underwent anorectal motility and sensory tests. Specific scoring systems were developed for anorectal symptoms and anorectal dysmotility. We found that (1) the SSc patients showed low QoL and marked overall GI symptoms. The most common anorectal symptom was incomplete bowel movement (50%). (2) Compared to normal controls, SSc patients showed impaired anorectal pressures, sensations, and rectal compliance (P ≤ .01 for each). (3) The anorectal motility/sensation abnormality score was robustly correlated with the total anorectal symptom score (r(s) = .78, P = .02). In conclusion, scleroderma patients have impaired anorectal motor and sensory functions, and the abnormality score of these anorectal functions is correlated with the total anorectal symptoms score. These scoring systems may assist clinicians in predicting dysmotility based on patient symptoms.
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