Moral of the story: IBS may be due to the way the brain develops

Source: AMA Morning Rounds 7/23/2010

Scientists identify possible connection between IBS, brain.

The Los Angeles Times (7/22, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reported that researchers from McGill University and UCLA have identified "a possible connection between IBS and the brain." After taking "MRI scans of 55 IBS patients and 48 healthy women for comparison," investigators noted that the "women with IBS tended to have different amounts of brain gray matter in certain areas; for example, decreases in gray matter in parts of the brain that govern attention and areas that suppress pain." That association has "been identified in other disorders, such as...fibromyalgia and hip pain," which suggests that IBS, "like these other conditions...may be due to the brain's inability to inhibit the pain response."