MECHANISMS OF CENTRAL SENSITIZATION IN POST-INFLAMMATORY VISCERAL PAIN

Society: AGA

Visceral pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting 20% of the population. Increased sensitivity to normal innocuous stimuli in the intestine is a hallmark of many organic and functional gastrointestinal disorders. A better understanding of the mechanisms associated with visceral hypersensitivity whether they include peripheral (eg microbiome-diet) or central inputs is necessary and critical in order to be able to treat patients. This workshop will present and discuss recent advances in our understanding of the factors that stimulate nociceptors of the intestine, and further central sensitization. Among the mechanisms that will be discussed are microbial factors, epithelial factors, immune mediators, and neuro-immune interactions, all studied in the setting of models, but also in patients' cohorts. This workshop is timely since cohorts of IBD patients are on-going aiming at phenotyping pain in such patients, and further identifying mechanisms associated with abdominal pain. Recent calls from national and international charities are supporting research on visceral pain, recognizing chronic pain as a priority research area. The implication of findings and potential treatments discussed should be of interest to a broad array of researchers from industrial, clinical and basic research background.