- Symptoms That Help Distinguish Irritable Bowel Syndrome From Crohn’s Disease
Many patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and some with Crohn’s disease (a form of inflammatory bowel disease), suffer from non-gastrointestinal symptoms in addition to their digestive problems, according to new research. The study of 400 people with irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease was reported in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology (Volume 19, page 231).
All of the patients completed a questionnaire that asked them about a wide variety of symptoms. The results revealed that irritable bowel syndrome patients were more likely than those with Crohn’s disease to have headaches, urinary problems, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or depression or anxiety. Crohn’s patients were more likely than irritable bowel syndrome patients to experience weight loss or night sweats.
Both irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s patients said that they suffered from sleep problems. The patients with Crohn’s, however, typically linked their sleep problems to digestive disturbances during the night, especially diarrhea and abdominal pain. The authors note that their study was limited by the fact that all of the participants came from a single gastroenterology practice, which might bias the results. However, they also note that their findings are consistent with those previously reported in other studies.
- Melatonin Eases Pain From Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Taking melatonin supplements can help to relieve abdominal pain in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and sleep disturbances, according to a study reported in the journal GUT (Volume 54, page 1136). Melatonin is a hormone that promotes sleep but also helps regulate sensations in the gut and the movement of food through the digestive tract.
Researchers in Singapore randomly assigned 40 people with irritable bowel syndrome and sleep disturbances to receive either 3 mg of melatonin or a placebo at bedtime for two weeks. Those who took the melatonin supplements reported significant reductions in abdominal pain, rectal pain, and the sensation of urgently needing to have a bowel movement. The treatment did not have an effect on bloating, stool type or frequency, or anxiety or depression scores.
Surprisingly, melatonin did not improve sleep in irritable bowel syndrome patients -- whether it was measured objectively or by subjects’ own assessments of their sleep. The authors theorize that this was because the subjects were not awakened at night by their abdominal pain, and thus their sleep problems must have been related to another cause. This is the first study to look at melatonin in irritable bowel syndrome patients with sleep disturbances. Thus, more research is needed to confirm this result in a larger group of people, as well as to determine the optimal dose and length of treatment with melatonin.
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