Food Antigens and Abdominal Pain Disorders

According to the abstract in an article in Nature, “Up to 20% of people worldwide develop gastrointestinal symptoms following a meal” but the mechanisms involved are not fully known. The study described looked at immune response triggering and bacterial toxins and infections. Researchers found that bacterial infections can greatly affect immune responses, leading to the perception by the gut that a normally easily eaten food is harmful. The result:pain.

Through testing on mice and humans with oral ingestion of foods or injection of antigens such as wheat, soy, gluten, “Our results identify and characterize a peripheral mechanism that underlies food-induced abdominal pain, thereby creating new possibilities for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and related abdominal pain disorders."

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