Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Section 1: Introduction:; The neurotic bowel: a paradigm for the irritable bowel syndrome; Section 2: Motor disturbance:; Disturbances in colonic motility; Small bowel motor activity: a key to understanding functional disorders of the bowel; Abnormalities of gastroduodenal motility; Extraintestinal manifestations of the irritable bowel syndrome; Section 3: Autonomic nerves, stress and hypnosis:; Involvement of extrinsic nerves in functional disorders of the bowel; A study of vagal function in the irritable bowel syndrome; The possible role of stress in the disturbance of gut function and development of symptoms; Gut sensitivity; Modulation of visceral afferent activity as a therapeutic possibility for gastrointestinal disorders; Hypnotic desensitisation of the bowel; Section 4: Immune mechanisms and food intolerance:; The immune system and the irritable gut; Pathophysiological mechanisms associated with type I hypersensitivity reactions in the intestine; Mast cell interactions with smooth muscle and nerves in the gut: speculation on mast cell modulation of gastrointestinal motility; Systemic mastocytosis and regional gastrointestinal mast cell disease; Lessons from asthma; Food intolerance and the irritable bowel syndrome