Irritable bowel syndrome could be an inflammatory disorder

Recent research has demonstrated that enteric neural and smooth muscle function is modulated by the immune system and influenced by mucosal inflammation. In addition, there is increasing awareness of the ability of the brain to modulate immune function and inflammatory processes in the periphery. These developments, taken in conjunction with observations of increased inflammatory cell levels in the gut of some patients with irritable bowel syndrome, provide the basis for considering inflammation as a putative pathophysiological process underlying gastrointestinal dysfunction in at least a subset of patients with this syndrome.