Could stress play a role in IBD? (original) (raw)

Stress: A Factor For Ulcerative Colitis Flareups And Its Management

European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 2021

Stressful life events always create a disturbance in the normal life of any organism and thus is a threat to the homeostasis. This triggers off a physiological response which needs adaptation and response. Mild stress may subside over a period of time but if stress continues, it can cause damage and exacerbation of disease process. One such disease related to stress is ulcerative colitis. It was first described in mid-1800s. Ulcerative colitis is an idiopathic disease with chronic inflammation of the colonic mucosa. It commonly involves the rectum and can extend in a proximal and continuous fashion and other parts of the colon are affected. Though there is still a controversy over the role of psychosocial factors in the development and modulation of common gastrointestinal disorders, but researches do establish bidirectional interactions between the brain and gut, and that certain stressful life events frequently precede exacerbation of symptoms in gastrointestinal disorders.

Heightened Responses to Stressors in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2005

Several studies suggest that stressful situations (stressors) worsen the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the mechanism is not known. Based on several lines of evidence, we hypothesized that psychosocial stress activates the brain-gut axis (BGA) and mucosal mast cells (MC), and activated MC produce proinflammatory cytokines. To test this hypothesis, we determined whether stressor-induced activation of BGA is exaggerated in IBD patients.

The Effect of Stress on Colon Ulcerative Colitis Disease Process

2013

Ulcerative colitis was first described in the mid 18th century, while Crohn’s disease was reported afterward in 1932 as Regional Ileitis. As Crohn’s disease can involve the colon with the same symptoms as ulcerative colitis shows, this two diseases are often identified together as inflammatory bowel disease. However, they are clearly distinguished in terms of pathophysiology. The etiology has not been accurately identified yet; but they may be influenced by stress and anxiety. The present study examined 300 average 27-aged patients with Ulcerative Colitis. The experiment examined 100 hospital patients administered proper diets and medicines, 100 patients in military barracks administered some particular medicines (Ranitidine, Sulfasalazin, Mesalamine) due to restricted access to medicines and 100 jailed patients lacking adequate facilities and deprived of expensive drugs (unless a few), in terms of stress and anxiety and their role in recurrence of the condition. According to experi...

Exploring the Pathogenic Role of Stress in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and its Management

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International

Every organism is constantly adapting to changes happening in the environment. This adaptation helps in maintaining homeostasis. All organisms must adapt at molecular, cellular, physiological, and behavioral levels. Amongst many factors which act as a threat to homeostasis, one of them is stress. The organism has to bring about both physiological and behavioral changes. The various researches in recent years have shown that adverse life events, along with chronic stress, and depression leads to increased likelihood of relapse in patients with quiescent IBD. Many studies of experimental stress in animal models of colitis support this. Till date, the therapeutic successes of stress reduction therapies have not been explored largely. This is also due to methodological difficulties in going ahead with such studies. This paper tries to explore the recent researches in enhancing our understanding of the pathogenic role played by psychological stress in inflammatory bowel disease an...

Psychological stress in IBD: new insights into pathogenic and therapeutic implications

Gut, 2005

Psychological stress has long been reported anecdotally to increase disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and recent well designed studies have confirmed that adverse life events, chronic stress, and depression increase the likelihood of relapse in patients with quiescent IBD. This evidence is increasingly supported by studies of experimental stress in animal models of colitis. With the evolving concept of psychoneuroimmunology, the mechanisms by which the nervous system can affect immune function at both systemic and gut mucosal levels are gradually becoming apparent. Recent data suggest that stress induced alterations in gastrointestinal inflammation may be mediated through changes in hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis function and alterations in bacterial-mucosal interactions, and via mucosal mast cells and mediators such as corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF). To date, the therapeutic opportunities offered by stress reduction therapy remain largely unexplored, in part because of methodological difficulties of such studies. This paper reviews recent advances in our understanding of the pathogenic role of psychological stress in IBD and emphasises the need for controlled studies of the therapeutic potential of stress reduction.