Gastro Flash Vol-8, No-1, 2022

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal (GI) disorder with considerably high frequency of occurrence across the world. This disorder often runs a chronic waxing and waning course, with recurrent and bothersome symptoms, including abdominal pain (or discomfort), bloating, altered bowel habits associated with either constipation, diarrhea or both. These symptoms are known to negatively impact quality of life of the affected individuals. The prevalence of IBS varies from 10-15% globally, although this may be an underestimation as majority of patients avoid taking medical opinion. Women appear to be affected more commonly than men (2:1). Peak age of symptom presentation is in early adulthood. Patients of IBS based on their predominant symptoms are subdivided into three broad categories; IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D), IBS with constipation (IBS-C), and IBS with mixed bowel patterns (IBS-M).

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a consequence of excessive alcohol use, in terms of diseased liver. It comprises a spectrum of histopathologic changes ranging from simple steatosis, steatohepatitis, and cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma. It is among the leading causes of liver-related mortality and a major indication for liver transplant. The pathogenesis and progression of ALD comprises multiple factors. The natural course of ALD ranges from asymptomatic liver steatosis, alcoholic hepatitis to the development of cirrhosis, and liver cancer. In general it is associated with liver inflammation and injury or progressive fibrosis giving rise to three major classes, each of which rarely exists in a pure form. It is also seen that the severe alcohol-associated liver disease has a very poor prognosis.