Irritable Bowel Syndrome

IBS has been blamed on diet, stress, a vivid imagination and a host of other things, but the finger is now squarely pointed at digestive enzymes.

Researchers have found twice as many protease enzymes (the enzyme which breaks down protein) in fluid taken from the colonic tissue of people with IBS compared to fluid taken from healthy people.

When researchers put colon fluid from IBS sufferers into the gut of animals, the animal experienced symptoms similar to IBS. Receptors for the protease enzymes are found on nerve and muscle cells throughout the body. If these receptors are activated by an excess of protease enzymes, this might explain why IBS sufferers report widespread pain and hypersensitivity as well as their gut pain. Researchers’ next step is to find where these extra protease enzymes come from.

Source: The Journal of Clinical Investigation, March 2007