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Updated: Jul 23, 2025

In vitro Functional Characterization of Mouse Colorectal Afferent Endings
Published on: January 21, 2015
Lower gastric sensitivity in quiescent inflammatory bowel disease than in irritable bowel syndrome
André Schulz1, Sina-Katharina Welsch2, Sarah Etringer2
1Clinical Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Trier University, Trier, Germany.
Objective:
Visceral hypersensitivity is considered a key symptom in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), both of which seriously affect health-related quality of life (HrQoL). Previous findings are mostly based on invasive procedures that may interfere with the assessment of visceral perception. The current study, therefore, investigates whether IBD and IBS are characterized by altered perception of 'natural' gastric distensions ('interoception').
Methods:
Twenty IBD patients in remission (13 Crohn's disease, 7 ulcerative colitis), 12 IBS patients, and 20/12 matched healthy control (HC) individuals, respectively, underwent the water load test, in which they could drink ad libitum until the subjective thresholds of satiation (stage 1) and fullness (stage 2) were reached. Gastric motility was assessed using electrogastrography.
Results:
IBD patients drank significantly more water until satiation than IBS patients, whereas no differences between patients and HC groups were observed. Electrogastrographic patterns were comparable between groups, suggesting no pathologies in gastric motility in IBD or IBS. The amount of water consumed until satiation negatively correlated with HrQoL related to bowel symptoms in IBD patients, but was positively associated with emotional well-being in IBS patients.
Conclusion:
Our findings implicate relative gastric hypersensitivity in IBS, and relative hyposensitivity in IBD patients, which are both related to specific HrQoL aspects.
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