Pain is one of the most debilitating symptoms experienced by patients with gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, significantly impacting their quality of life. Disorders such as chronic pancreatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease commonly present with chronic abdominal pain, negatively affecting patients' physical health, mental well-being, and social functioning. Despite advances in understanding GI pathophysiology, pain mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Emerging research highlights complex interactions between visceral hypersensitivity, neuroimmune responses, central pain processing, and psychosocial factors. However, comprehensive insights into the precise mechanisms underlying chronic GI pain are limited, thereby constraining effective therapeutic interventions and adversely affecting patient outcomes.
The primary goal of this Research Topic is to explore and discuss various mechanisms of pain in GI disorders, their clinical impact on quality of life, and potential links to therapeutic pathways. We would like to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations by bringing together leading clinicians, researchers, and scholars from different specialties and subspecialties to foster the identification of novel diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets, as well as research innovations to improve outcomes through managing chronic pain in GI disorders.
This Research Topic encourages submissions of original research articles, narrative and systematic reviews, and meta-analyses that address mechanisms, clinical impact, and pain management in GI disorders, preferably through interdisciplinary approaches, from basic science findings to clinical research. Visceral hypersensitivity, central and peripheral pain modulation, neuroimmune interactions, psychological and social determinants of chronic GI pain, novel pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies, and patient quality-of-life assessments are special areas of interest.
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Data Report
Editorial
FAIR² Data
FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
Hypothesis and Theory
Methods
Mini Review
Opinion
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Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
