A GUT FEELING

Up to 20 per cent of the world’s population suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which causes stomach pain or severe discomfort after eating. Gluten-free and other diets can provide some relief, but if sufferers are found not to be allergic to their ‘trigger foods’, and if coeliac disease and other common conditions are ruled out, “these patients are not taken seriously... the lack of an allergic response used as an argument that this is all in the mind,” says Professor Guy Boeckxstaens, a gastroenterologist at KU Leuven. New research by Professor Boeckxstaens has identified the biological mechanism that explains why some people experience abdominal pain when they eat certain foods. The research reveals a mechanism that connects certain foods with an activation of the cells that release histamine (called mast cells), and subsequent pain and discomfort. The finding paves the way for more efficient treatment of IBS.