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Published on: December 19, 2013
Basic and clinical aspects of visceral hyperalgesia
1Department of Medicine, VA Wadsworth Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Gastroenterology
|July 1, 1994
Summary
Chronic abdominal pain, common in functional bowel disorders and inflammatory gut conditions, may stem from heightened neuronal excitability in the dorsal horn. This neurophysiological model explains pain perception in conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.
Area of Science:
- Neurogastroenterology
- Visceral Pain Mechanisms
- Gastrointestinal Physiology
Background:
- Gastrointestinal stimuli are usually not consciously perceived in healthy individuals.
- Chronic abdominal discomfort and pain are leading reasons for gastroenterology consultations.
- Symptoms can arise from gut inflammation or functional disorders, often involving altered sensory perception and reflexes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore neurophysiological mechanisms underlying chronic gastrointestinal pain.
- To propose a model explaining the development of abdominal pain in inflammatory and functional gut disorders.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent neurophysiological research on somatic and visceral sensation.
- Integration of clinical characteristics of functional bowel disorders.
- Development of a conceptual model based on neuronal hyperexcitability.
Main Results:
- Central hyperexcitability of dorsal horn neurons is a key mechanism in chronic gastrointestinal pain.
- This hyperexcitability can be triggered by peripheral irritation or central nervous system influences.
- A unifying model is proposed for pain in inflammatory and functional gut disorders.
Conclusions:
- Altered perception and reflex responses are central to functional gut disorders.
- Central hyperexcitability offers a plausible explanation for chronic hyperalgesia in the gut.
- Abdominal pain in conditions like irritable bowel syndrome may result from combined or individual mechanisms involving neuronal hyperexcitability.
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