INTRODUCTION The objective of this study is to report our experience with sacral nerve stimulation for the treatment of severe faecal incontinence after the first 10 years with this technique. MATERIAL AND METHODS Between 2001 and 2011, 49 patients with severe faecal incontinence underwent sacral nerve stimulation. Anorectal manometry, endoanal ultrasound and pudendal nerve latency were perfo...

Background: Given the variations in clinical presentation and physiopathological mechanisms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) subtypes, it is an acknowledged fact that the response to treatments can be disparate. Objective: To assess the effect of vitamin D on inflammatory cytokines (IL-17, IL-10, TNF-α), and biomarkers of oxidative stress (total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde ...

BACKGROUND Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a heterogeneous condition which is diagnosed according to specific bowel symptom clusters. The aim of the present study was to identify subgroups of IBS subjects using measures of rectal sensitivity and psychological symptoms, in addition to bowel symptoms. Such groupings, which cross conventional diagnostic approaches, may provide greater understand...

BACKGROUND Constipation is a common side effect of antimuscarinic treatment for overactive bladder (OAB). This review evaluates the incidence and impact of constipation on the lives of patients with OAB being treated with darifenacin. METHODS Constipation data from published Phase III and Phase IIIb/IV darifenacin studies were reviewed and analyzed. Over 4000 patients with OAB (aged 18-89 yea...

Background & Aims: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most prevalent gastrointestinal functional disorder, characterized by non-specific symptoms such as abdominal pain and discomfort, altered bowel habit, and bloating. Its prevalence varies between 3.5% and 30% in the world. This study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of IBS in the adult population of Kerman, Iran, which i...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder of chronic abdominal pain, altered bowel habit and abdominal distension. It is the commonest cause of referral to gastroenterologists in the developed world and yet current therapeutic strategies are often unsatisfactory. There is now increasing evidence linking alterations in the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota and IBS. Changes in faecal and mucosa...

Food intolerance in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is increasingly being recognized, with patients convinced that diet plays a role in symptom induction. Evidence is building to implicate fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs) in the onset of abdominal pain, bloating, wind and altered bowel habit through their fermentation and osmotic effects. Hyperse...

A 77-year-old edentulous man presented to the accident and emergency department with a sudden onset of sharp right-sided abdominal pain. The patient reported a change in his bowel habit with constipation over a 6 month period but did not report any significant choking event or ingestion of a foreign body in the preceding months. On examination the patient was maximally tender with guarding over...