1.   It is not difficult to imagine how a disorder such as irritable bowel syndrome could affect a patient psychologically.

2.   She suffered from diarrhoea with pain and bloating, which had been diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome.

3.   The large increases in plasma concentrations of PYY and enteroglucagon that accompany such conditions as sprue or short bowel syndrome may represent an important adaptive response to malabsorption.

4.   Although irritable bowel syndrome is commonly believed to be a colonic motility disorder, the evidence supporting this hypothesis is inconsistent.

5.   It also inhibits motor activity induced by rectal distention and increases sensory thresholds for defaecation in patients with the irritable bowel syndrome.