According to a study to be exposed in the month of April at the 68th American Congress of Neurology, there is a strong correlation between migraine crises, the muscle-tension headaches and irritable bowel syndrome.

It has been seen, according to this study, an outreach relationship with both phenotypic associations that genotype; also in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is very familiar with the dysfunctions by the SNC related with stress and the hypothalamic axis, such as to be nicknamed the syndrome as “migraine of the bowels”.

The study included 107 people with migraine, with 53 episodes of tension-type (ETTH), 107 with IBS and 53 healthy individuals.

This is the first study that investigated the relationship between IBS and primary headaches, including ETTH, using a comprehensive evaluation of clinical diagnostic nature and with information on more polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene.

The researchers found that the IBS, diagnosed according to strict criteria, occurred in 54.2% of patients with migraine and 28.3% of patients with ETTH. In addition, 35.5% of patients with IBS had migraine and 22.4% had ETTH.

Furthermore, the analysis of the gene of serotonin and serotonin receptor transporter gene showed that the IBS, migraine, and the ETTH groups, had at least one gene that differed from the healthy participants genes.

This association is a good example of the study of the brain-gut axis ratio, the more broad definition and by the gut-microbiota system as “second brain.” There seems to be a genetic link with consequent disturbances in the serotonergic neurotransmitter system and the parasympathetic type.

Often there is a tendency in patients with both abdominal pain that headache to label them as psycho-somatic patients. The study provides further evidence in support of biological vulnerability for pain in patients with primary headache and IBS.

On the basis of these results, the role of the treatments that affect the brain-gut axis should be further explored, with integration of substances such as butyric acid with the various anti-inflammatory functions or psycobiotics, in the action of direct production of both GABA that of serotonin itself.

The association between these genes, persistent pain and food sensitivities should be explored further and further investigated.