Year: 2016
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: A functional disorder is a medical condition that impairs the normal function, but without major organic cause such as irritation or inflammation and where the organ or part of the body looks completely normal under medical examination. The accumulation of abnormalities that limit body functions is a major risk factor for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), defined as a gastrointestinal disorder with abdominal pain or discomfort that is associated with a change in bowel habit. Often, this disorder is accompanied by the concomitant decline in cognitive or motor performance. Pain that in some patients is out of proportion to identifiable pathology is the most immediate and dramatic consequence of IBS and is responsible for a highly negative impact on quality of life and substantial workforce loss. For patients with IBS, the most common comorbid diagnoses include painful bladder syndrome (PBS) or chronic pelvic pain (CPP). Cells of the affected tissues may interact in cell-to-cell manner messages through the transfer of hormones, cytokines, and other mediators that influence normal functioning. The complex interplay and balance between these diverse mediators, ageing, genetic background, and environmental factors may ultimately determine the outcome of the progression of the functional disorder. On a cellular level, these responses are highly complex, involving a vast array of enzymes and receptors of virtually every class, directing recruitment of many types of cells to recover the healthy state. Indeed, a balance between the messengers with the inherent redundancy of the different body systems makes therapeutic intervention of functional disorders a considerable challenge.
Source: InTech eBooks
DOI: 10.5772/65767
Author: Victor V. Chaban
Language: English
Subfield: Gastroenterology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2566021744