A pr
eliminary study suggests that migraine and tension-type headache may share links with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
“Our results suggest a high possibility of phenotypic and genotypic associations between IBS and primary headache disorders (particularly migraine) and support the presence of some shared pathophysiology,” Denya Uluduz, MD from Istanbul University in Turkey, told Medscape Medical News.
“Greater attention should be focused on the comorbidities of these conditions and their potential contribution to better understanding and managing the disorder. Physicians should examine the presence of IBS in migraine and tension-type headache patients or vice versa for accurate management of these disorders,” Dr. Uluduz added.
The study was released February 23rd, ahead of presentation in April at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 68th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
“In designing this study, we were interested in whether IBS and migraine coexist within a same spectrum of central sensitization syndrome and have phenotypic and genotypic association,” Dr. Uluduz explained. “We already knew that brain plays significant role in IBS. IBS may be characterized by dysfunctions in processing of information by the central nervous system. IBS patients have increased hypothalamic activity suggesting an association among IBS, stress and hypothalamic axis. In this respect, IBS may be defined as the ‘migraine of the bowels.'”
Reached for comment, Teshamae S. Monteith, MD, chief of the Headache Division at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, Florida, said the link is not entirely novel.
“Based on clinical and epidemiological observations, it has long been recognized that migraines and IBS are likely linked,” Dr. Monteith told Medscape Medical News. “The association is a good example of the brain-gut axis and how it relates to disease. There appears to be a genetic link resulting in disturbances within the serotoninergic neurotransmitter system.”
Dr. Monteith also thinks it’s important to assess for the presence of IBS in headache patients and vice versa for accurate management.
“Often, patients reporting both abdominal pain and headache are labeled as somatic. The study provides further evidence to support the biological vulnerability to pain in patients with primary headache and IBS. Based on these results, the role of treatments that target the brain-gut axis should be further explored. The association between these genes, pain persistence and food sensitivities should also be explored,” Dr. Monteith said.
March 2, 2016