Inflammatory bowel diseases affect millions of Americans every year. While their causation has been connected to the nervous system for quite some time, recent research has also suggested that these diseases may be caused by abnormalities in the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system is found in the intestines. It has more neurons than the entire spinal cord, and it provides neurological signaling between the central nervous system and the intestines. (Furness, 2011). Inflammatory bowel diseases include ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. While their cause is generally disputed, they lead to painful sores in the intestines and last for a patient's lifetime. (Dugdale, & Longstreth, 2011). Inflammatory bowel diseases have no known cure. While many studies have taken place, the first step in finding a cure for inflammatory bowel diseases is deciding what their cause is. The study of the enteric nervous system may lead to the discovery of what this cause maybe.
The enteric nervous system is essentially the "brain" of the intestines. It consists of two layers of tissue and ganglia that cover the intestines and the rest of the gastrointestinal track. Ganglia are masses of nerve tissues found in the nervous system. They provide connections and communication not only within the enteric nervous system itself, but also between the central and enteric nervous systems. (Furness, 2011). Neurons in the enteric nervous system signal between each other and carry information throughout the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system has trillions of neurons, even more than the entire spinal cord. However, this is only one thousandth of the amount in the brain. (Furness, 2011). The enteric nervous system is located througho...
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...ervous system. New treatment methods of inflammatory bowel diseases include stem cell therapy, which has been shown to be successful in a few select cases.
Future research could explore the connection between white matter lesions and mononeuropathies in the brain to the enteric nervous system and white lesions found there. Additional research could also explore the development of the enteric nervous system and whether it may be a cause of inflammatory bowel diseases. The enteric nervous system is an interesting and vital system within the human body. Whereas inflammatory bowel diseases are painful and difficult afflictions that millions of people must live everyday with. The relationship between the two is significant, and can lead to the cure for inflammatory bowel diseases, as well as a deeper understanding of the complex and mysterious enteric nervous system.
(What is....2016). The first documented case of Crohn’s disease suspected was King Alfred in 850 A.D. This disease is named after a Jewish man named Dr. Burrill Bernard Crohn (1884-1983) who became interested in the condition as his father, also a Dr, suffered from a disorder of the bowel. He devoted his career to “regional enteritis” the disease that now bares his name. It is necessary to understand the disease to be able to provide care for people who are afflicted by it (de Campos and Kotze 2013). Especially since Crohn’s is a chronic disease or a lifelong affliction it’s important to understand etiology, it’s symptoms, treatments, and to maintain the disease and the psychological well being of the patient managed (Crohn’s...2015).
Crohn’s disease is a chronic disorder of the digestive system. I can affect any area of the gastrointestinal system from the mouth to the anus. Its inflammatory process may spread to include skin, eyes, joints, mouth and sometimes the liver (Chang, 2008). Males and females appear to be affected proportionately. Crohn’s disease can occur in people of any age, but it is mostly a disease of adolescents and young adults. However, Crohn’s disease may occur in people over 70 years old and in young children (Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, 2009).
Through time, most renowned practitioners of alternative medicine have claimed that an unclean colon is the most dominant cause of all kinds of diseases. Without regular and proper bowl movements, the waste material that is supposed to be driven out of the body remains inside. They in turn produce toxins which are slowly absorbed by other parts of the body including the organs. This in no way can be something good for the body. In fact the toxic waste can
Treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease is tricky. There is currently no cure for Crohn’s Disease (and technically no legitimate cure for Ulcerative Colitis). Also, there is no sure-fire way of treating the disease, as there is no one medicine that works for everyone. Treatments for Crohn’s disease also differ from the treatments of Ulcerative Colitis.
Wakefield, A. J., Murch, S. H., Anthony, M. A., Linnell, J., Casson, D. M., Malik, M., Berelowitz, M., Dhillon, A. P., Thomson, M. A., Harvey, P., Valentine, A., Davies, S. E., & Walker-Smith, J. A. (1998). Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet, 351(9103), 637–641.
The digestive system otherwise known as the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) is a long tube which runs from the mouth to the anus. It operates to break down the food we eat from large macromolecules such as starch, proteins and fats, which can’t be easily absorbed, into readily absorbable molecules such as glucose, fatty acids and amino acids. Once broken down, these molecules can cross the cells lining the small intestine, enter into the circulatory system and be transported around the body finally being used for energy, growth and repair.
Walton, Sir John. Brain’s Diseases of the Nervous System. 9th ed. Oxford University Press. Oxford: 1985.
Dendrites are located on either one or both ends of a cell.The peripheral nervous system then takes the sensory information from the outside and sends the messages by virtue of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that relay signals through the neural pathways of the spinal cord. The neurotransmitter chemicals are held by tiny membranous sacs located in the synaptic terminals. Synaptic terminals are located at the ends of nerve cells. The release of neurotransmitters from their sacs is stimulated once the electrical nerve impulse has finished travelling along a neuron and reaches the synaptic terminal. Afterward, neurotransmitters travel across synapses thus stimulating the production of an electrical charge that carries the nerve impulse onward. Synapses are junctions between neighboring neurons. This procedure is reiterated until either muscle movement occurs or the brain picks up on a sensory reaction. During this process, messages are being transmitted from one part of the body onto the next. The peripheral and central nervous system are two crucial subdivisions of the nervous system. The brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous
http://kidshealth.org/kid/cancer_center/HTBW/digestive_system.html ( I didnt copy direct quotes, however I had used the idea of the beginning in my research on the digestive system to help the reader better understand the system)
The Alimentary tract to do its function, requires hormonal and nervous control. The gastrointestinal tract has its own nervous system which is called the enteric nervous system. This system consist of myentric plexus which is responsible for the gastrointestinal movement and the submucosal plexus which controls the gastrointestinal secretion and local blood flow. (1)
The excretory system, which includes the rectum and anus helps the digestive system by getting rid of waste and the digestive system helps the excretory system by breaking down food to be eliminated from the body. Wow! The human body wouldn’t be able to work without one or the other. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading my journey throughout the human digestive system. I hope to write again from where my next journey from here will begin- perhaps it will be in the ocean or along Sydney Water pipes. Until next
Among various types of organ systems, the nervous system is one of the most important one in human body. It is responsible for producing, controlling and guiding our thoughts and responses to the world around us according to James W. Pennebaker (2012). During embryological development, the cells that form nervous system are incredibly specialised and work complexly than the cells that form skin or other body parts. Neurosecretory cells are one of the examples of specialised nervous system cells that produce neurosecretions. Neurosecretions are hormones which carry information from sensor cells to target cells and they can be released directly into the bloodstream according to Rene Fester Kratz, Donna Rae Siegfried (2010). The nervous system consists of two main parts: central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) where CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord whereas PNS consists of ganglia and nerves which connect CNS to different parts of the body. The main function of the nervous system is to coordinate the voluntary and involuntary actions of the human body and transmit signals between different parts of the body.
Inflammatory bowel disease is a life long disease, and it particularly targets the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract), which consists of the mouth, esophagus, stomach small intestine, large intestine (appendix, cecum, colon (ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid), and rectum), and anus. The gastrointestinal tract is very important to the human body; some of its functions include mechanical and chemical digestion of food, the movement of food and waste from mouth to anus, secretion of enzymes and mucus, and the absorption of nutrients. These are some reason why it’s so destructive when this part of the body becomes impaired or even damaged.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - 2013. The. Anatomy of the Central Nervous System. Pictures and Information on eMedicineHealth.com.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.