Irritable bowel syndrome was first described within the Eighteen Nineties. But to at the present time, there continues to be no explanation for what precisely causes it. A researcher attempted to seek out the reply to this mystery in a latest study.
Brennan Spiegel, MD, the director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, hypothesized in a study published within the American Journal of Gastroenterology that gravity may very well be answerable for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) — a disorder of gut-brain interaction leading to issues within the digestive system.
“The hypothesis proposed here is that IBS may result from ineffective anatomical, physiological, and neuropsychological gravity management systems designed to optimize gastrointestinal form and performance, protect somatic and visceral integrity, and maximize survival in a gravity-bound world,” he wrote.
The study creator noted that the symptoms of IBS may very well be because of the body’s inability to administer gravity. To back his claim, Spiegel checked out the influence of gravity on human evolution and its effects on overall health. He also reviewed previous studies showing the physiological effects of gravity on the body.
“We live our entire life in it, are shaped by it, yet hardly notice its ever-present influence on our body. Every fiber of our body is affected by gravity day-after-day, including our gastrointestinal tract,” Spiegel told Medscape Medical News.
Other than discussing how gravity affects the gut and abdominal area, he also explored how the nervous system plays a task within the manifestation of IBS symptoms.
“Our nervous system has evolved its own ways of managing gravity, and the way gut feelings arise when our nervous system detects gravity challenges, like getting ‘butterflies’ when falling on a roller coaster or in a turbulent airplane,” Spiegel said.
Based on Shelly Lu, MD, the director of the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at Cedars-Sinai, the most effective thing about Spiegel’s hypothesis is it’s testable.
“If proved correct, it’s a serious paradigm shift in the way in which we take into consideration IBS and possibly treatment as well,” she said in a news release.
IBS is a typical and chronic disorder that affects the stomach and intestines. Patients experience symptoms corresponding to cramping, abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, gas and constipation. Most of them will be treated with medication and counseling, in accordance with the Mayo Clinic.
The condition is difficult to diagnose because symptoms vary from one patient to a different. Treatments are also tailored depending on the person and symptoms.