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- Aug 28, 2011
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Just thought I would pass on some info from an interesting article I read in one of the newspapers.
Chicken pox "hidden" in our guts since childhood could be behind the thousands of cases of unexplained stomach pain and bloating in adulthood.
New research suggests this 'intestinal' chicken pox could even trigger stomach ulcers. Scientists have known for some time that following exposure during childhood , the chicken pox virus is locked away in nerve cells near the brain and spinal cord.
In most people the virus lies dormant without causing any problems, but sometimes it can break free, travelling via nerve cells to the skin, causing the painful condition shingles.
How and why the virus is unleashed in not clear but one theory is that a period of illness or a weakened immune system allows it to escape.
Now a study from Columbia University suggests the virus - known as varicella zoster - is also locked away in the nerve cells of the gut.
They believe that when it breaks free, it triggers pain adn tissue damage, and could be to blame for unexplained conditions such as IBS.
The idea of intestinal chicken pox is a new one says Prof Michael Gershon, one of the lead researchers from the university 'We are now trying to learn whether disorders of the gastro-intestinal tract that have perviously been of unknown origin are, inface, due to the chicken pox virus'.
The researchers conclusions are based on several recent studies. In the first, six children who had all had chicken pox were tested and whown to have the virus lying dormant in their intestines.
More recent studies on guinea pigs confirmed the virus can live dorman in teh gut and can be reactivated when the immune system is low.
In the latest study, six patiens with gastric ulcers were all found to have the virus in their gut following samples taken from their stomach lining.
One patient, a 16-year old boy suffering with a large stomach ulcer, was found to have the chicken pox virus in all the cells surrounding the ulcer after it was surgically removed.
Professor Gershon believes the virus could even be responsible fo runexplained patient deaths. The weeping ulcers that chicken pox causes on the skin could be very dangerous when replicated in the stomach and bowel, and could possibly trigger lethal bleeding, he suggests.
He also points out that IBS tens to occur in older people, raising the possiblity that a bout of 'intestinal chicken pox' has caused ulcers in their lining and prompted the disorder.
As well as triggerin gulcers, the animal studies also suggested that the viral attack could lead to 'pseudo-obstruction', a serious digestive condition where the bowel stops pushing food through the gut.
However the researchers caution that more human studies are needed to confirm if the virus can trigger this in people.
Chicken pox "hidden" in our guts since childhood could be behind the thousands of cases of unexplained stomach pain and bloating in adulthood.
New research suggests this 'intestinal' chicken pox could even trigger stomach ulcers. Scientists have known for some time that following exposure during childhood , the chicken pox virus is locked away in nerve cells near the brain and spinal cord.
In most people the virus lies dormant without causing any problems, but sometimes it can break free, travelling via nerve cells to the skin, causing the painful condition shingles.
How and why the virus is unleashed in not clear but one theory is that a period of illness or a weakened immune system allows it to escape.
Now a study from Columbia University suggests the virus - known as varicella zoster - is also locked away in the nerve cells of the gut.
They believe that when it breaks free, it triggers pain adn tissue damage, and could be to blame for unexplained conditions such as IBS.
The idea of intestinal chicken pox is a new one says Prof Michael Gershon, one of the lead researchers from the university 'We are now trying to learn whether disorders of the gastro-intestinal tract that have perviously been of unknown origin are, inface, due to the chicken pox virus'.
The researchers conclusions are based on several recent studies. In the first, six children who had all had chicken pox were tested and whown to have the virus lying dormant in their intestines.
More recent studies on guinea pigs confirmed the virus can live dorman in teh gut and can be reactivated when the immune system is low.
In the latest study, six patiens with gastric ulcers were all found to have the virus in their gut following samples taken from their stomach lining.
One patient, a 16-year old boy suffering with a large stomach ulcer, was found to have the chicken pox virus in all the cells surrounding the ulcer after it was surgically removed.
Professor Gershon believes the virus could even be responsible fo runexplained patient deaths. The weeping ulcers that chicken pox causes on the skin could be very dangerous when replicated in the stomach and bowel, and could possibly trigger lethal bleeding, he suggests.
He also points out that IBS tens to occur in older people, raising the possiblity that a bout of 'intestinal chicken pox' has caused ulcers in their lining and prompted the disorder.
As well as triggerin gulcers, the animal studies also suggested that the viral attack could lead to 'pseudo-obstruction', a serious digestive condition where the bowel stops pushing food through the gut.
However the researchers caution that more human studies are needed to confirm if the virus can trigger this in people.
