title: Olfactory and gustatory function in irritable bowel syndrome.
abstract: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common, functional disorder diagnosed by gastroenterologists. It is still unclear whether IBS has a central etiology, e.g., hyperreactivity of the brain, or a peripheral etiology, e.g., stimulation of olfactory/gustatory receptors on enterochromaffin cells, followed by serotonin release and changed gut motility. Testing the odor identification (ID), odor discrimination (DIS) and odor threshold (THR) as well as the total taste and the taste qualities "sweet", "sour", "salty" and "bitter" should be of help for determining the etiology. To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the olfactory/gustatory function in IBS patients. The olfactory/gustatory function of 43 patients (32 women, 11 men) suffering from IBS as defined by the ROME III criteria was investigated by means of validated tests (Sniffin' Sticks and taste strips). Compared to normative data, scores of THR were decreased and scores of ID and DIS were increased in IBS patients. Additionally, when compared to normative data, there was no difference in the taste function of IBS patients. Assuming that THR reflects more the peripheral olfactory function, whereas ID and DIS are influenced by central activity, and that taste did not differ in IBS patients compared to normative data, this supports the idea of a central etiology of IBS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Philipps University, Deutschhausstrasse 3, 35037 Marburg, Germany. silkesteinbach@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinbach
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Reindl
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kessel
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zahnert
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hundt
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saur
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009812:Odorants; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology