Cytokines and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is marked by elevated levels of tissue and serum cytokines and is associated with various extra-intestinal comorbidities, including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, premenstrual dystrophic disorder, interstitial cystitis, and migraines. But whether elevated levels of specific cytokines are associated with the presence of particular comorbid conditions in IBS patients is unknown.

To explore this issue, researchers in Ireland recruited 100 women (age range, 18–65) with IBS who had at least one of three extra-intestinal comorbidities — fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and premenstrual dystrophic disorder — and compared their plasma cytokine profiles with those of 35 healthy controls matched by sex an…