Enteroendocrine cell counts correlate with visceral hypersensitivity in patients with diarrhoea‐predominant irritable bowel syndrome

The objective of this study was to determine whether or not the number of enteroendocrine cells (ECs) in the gut is related to visceral hypersensitivity in patients with diarrhoea‐predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D‐IBS). Twenty‐five subjects with D‐IBS (mean, 43.1 years; 16 women, nine men) were recruited into our study, along with 13 healthy controls (mean, 40.7 years; nine women, four men). Maximally tolerable pressures were evaluated via barostat testing, and the levels of ECs were immunohistochemically identified and quantified via image analysis. The numbers of ECs between the D‐IBS subjects and the controls were not significantly different in the terminal ileum, ascending colon and rectum. However, the maximally tolerable pressures determined in the D‐IBS subjects were significantly lower than those of the control subjects (P