Spinal processing of sensory signals from the gut

我们使用炎症性肠病（IBD）小鼠模型来确定来自炎症肠道的感觉是如何在脊髓中处理的。超过6万澳大利亚人患有炎症性肠病，使人衰弱的疼痛是一个主要症状。令人惊讶的是，我们对来自正常或患病肠道的疼痛信号是如何在中枢神经系统中组织和处理的知之甚少。在我们开发出缓解肠道疼痛的疗法之前，获得这些信息是必要的第一步。

We use a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to determine how sensations from the inflamed gut are processed in the spinal cord. Over 60,000 Australians suffer from IBD and debilitating pain is a major symptom. Surprisingly, we know very little about how pain signals originating in the normal or the diseased gut are organised and processed in the central nervous system. Obtaining such information is a necessary first step before we can develop therapies to relieve gut pain.