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| |  DG DISPATCH - GASTRO 99: Research Links Irritable Bowel And Mitral Valve Prolapse By Cameron Johnston Special to DG News VANCOUVER, BC -- Sept. 7, 1999 -- South American doctors have suggested that irritable bowel syndrome might be related to mitral valve prolapse (MVP), a condition in which the valve between the left atrium and ventricle either malfunctions, or is weakened and blood does not circulate through the heart in the way it should. In a presentation at Gastro ‘99, the Pan American Congress on Digestive Diseases, which wrapped up here over the weekend, Dr. Alejandro Navarro, a resident in gastroenterology in the department of gastroenterology and cardiology at the Chilean Air force National Hospital in Valparaiso, explained that irritable bowel and mitral valve prolapse can both be caused by dysfunctions in the autonomic nervous system. A similar link has been investigated previously concerning mitral valve prolapse and migraine headaches, dental malocclusion and skeletal deformities such as scoliosis. "We’re not saying there is a cause and effect, but in this case, irritable bowel and the mitral valve prolapse are both caused by something in the nervous system, so we wanted to see if there was a connection with IBS in the same way there was with these other conditions, for example," Dr. Navarro said. "We think that both of these conditions are malfunctions of autonomic nerve signalling." He described how a cohort of 25 consecutive patients, all female, mean age 38 with IBS, were recruited to determine if there was a pattern between their IBS and any possible cardiac abnormalities. They were examined with bi-dimensional ultra sound, oriented anamneis and other autonomic nerve tests, as well as having a fully GI work up to rule out any kind of organic cause for their IBS. Dr. Navarro said mitral valve prolapse was confirmed in 76 percent of the women. Eighty percent also had scoliosis. "We know that IBS is not one single disease -- that it’s many diseases and this is one component of the disease, in one group of people," Dr. Navarro said. "There is a phenotype -- a person who might have IBS and they might also have mitral valve prolapse. But you might have other people who have migraines and MVP, or scoliosis and MVP. The two don’t always go together." Dr. Navarro proposed treating patients with IBS in the same way that the mitral valve prolapse can be treated -- with exercise, magnesium supplements and clonazepam. "It could be an interesting therapy for such patients," he said.
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