Posts Tagged ‘Serotonin(5HT)’

Overlapping illnesses

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

 

In his article ‘How what happens homes in on your gut’ (Gut Reaction Issue 65) Prof Read describes how illnesses tend to overlap. People with IBS are also 60% more likely to have migraine and depression (1) as well as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and functional dyspepsia which were mentioned. A link has also been demonstrated between IBS and overactive bladder (2). 

A common thread through these ‘unexplained illnesses’ is the role of serotonin, also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine or 5HT. (more…)

Migraine, the gut and diverticular disease

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

MIGRAINE AND GUT MALFUNCTION

What has migraine got to do with diverticular disease?”

That was the occasional response when DD sufferers were asked in a survey if they or any blood relative have/did have migraine. However, 42% of females and 29% of males had migraine themselves or a blood relative did. Some noted that they ‘used to have’ migraine. These figures are far higher than the 10% or so incidence of migraine expected at retirement ages. A survey of migraine sufferers in Ireland found that 51% had also been diagnosed with IBS. A survey of people with IBS found a 60% greater prevalence of migraine than in non-IBS controls (1). There was a frequent association between headache, including migraine, and gastrointestinal symptoms (acid reflux, diarrhoea, constipation and nausea) in a Norwegian report (2).

Patients who did not respond to a high fibre diet, who had a single, intermittent abdominal pain were investigated in Leeds (3). Symptoms and family history suggested that 49% of them might have abdominal migraine and 32% of these had typical migraine symptoms during the attack. Mulak (4) noted that migraine and IBS often coexist. (more…)