{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:24:11Z","timestamp":1760145851931,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,13]],"date-time":"2024-09-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1726185600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"LA Sagesse University Lebanon"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Imaging"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal functional disorder characterized by unclear underlying mechanisms. Several theories propose that hyperactivation of the hypothalamic\u2013pituitary\u2013adrenal (HPA) axis leads to elevated cortisol levels and increased sensitivity of gut wall receptors. Given the absence of prior literature on this topic, our study aimed to investigate the potential for diagnosing IBS based on morphological changes in the pituitary gland, specifically its volume and grayscale intensity. Additionally, we aimed to assess whether factors such as gender, age, and body mass index influence these parameters. This retrospective study involved 60 patients, examining the volume and grayscale characteristics of their pituitary glands in the presence of IBS. Our findings revealed a positive correlation between pituitary gland volume and IBS diagnosis, although no significant correlation was observed with grayscale intensity. Due to the limited existing research and the small sample size of our study, further investigation with a larger cohort is warranted to validate these results.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jimaging10090226","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,13]],"date-time":"2024-09-13T03:03:37Z","timestamp":1726196617000},"page":"226","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Morphological Changes of the Pituitary Gland in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Jessica","family":"Abou Chaaya","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon"},{"name":"Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jennifer","family":"Abou Chaaya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Public Health Section 2, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9949-6741","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Batoul","family":"Jaafar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lea","family":"Saab","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Engineering, Sagesse University, Furn El Chebbak, Baabda, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jad","family":"Abou Chaaya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Lab-STICC, UMR 6285 CNRS, ENIB, 29200 Brest, France"},{"name":"Applied Physics Lab, Faculty of Science, Lebanese University, Campus Fanar, Jdeideh, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elie","family":"Al Ahmar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Engineering, Sagesse University, Furn El Chebbak, Baabda, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8830-556X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elias","family":"Estephan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon"},{"name":"Faculty of Engineering, Sagesse University, Furn El Chebbak, Baabda, Lebanon"},{"name":"Bioengineering Nanoscience Laboratory UR_UM104 (LBN), Montpellier University, 545 Avenue Prof. Viala, 34193 Montpellier Cedex, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6759","DOI":"10.3748\/wjg.v20.i22.6759","article-title":"Irritable bowel syndrome: Pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and evidence-based medicine","volume":"20","author":"Saha","year":"2014","journal-title":"World J. Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.15171\/mejdd.2018.104","article-title":"A Comprehensive Look at Irritable Bowel Syndrome and its Associated Factors Considering the Rome IV Criteria: A Penalized Smoothly Clipped Absolute Deviation Regression Approach in the Pars Cohort Study","volume":"10","author":"Arasteh","year":"2018","journal-title":"Middle East J. Dig. Dis."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"495","article-title":"Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome: A community survey","volume":"54","author":"Wilson","year":"2004","journal-title":"Br. J. Gen. Pract."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chatila, R., Merhi, M., Hariri, E., Sabbah, N., and Deeb, M.E. (2017). Irritable bowel syndrome: Prevalence, risk factors in an adult Lebanese population. BMC Gastroenterol., 17.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12876-017-0698-2"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1159\/000007593","article-title":"Impact of irritable bowel syndrome on quality of life and resource use in the United States and United Kingdom","volume":"60","author":"Hahn","year":"1999","journal-title":"Digestion"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"727","DOI":"10.1177\/1756283X17718677","article-title":"The global impact of IBS: Time to think about IBS-specific models of care?","volume":"10","author":"Corsetti","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ther. Adv. Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1155\/2005\/978794","article-title":"Nongastrointestinal symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome: An office-based clinical survey","volume":"19","author":"Hershfield","year":"2005","journal-title":"Can. J. Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1136\/gut.27.1.37","article-title":"Non-colonic features of irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"27","author":"Whorwell","year":"1986","journal-title":"Gut"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"558","DOI":"10.5056\/jnm16001","article-title":"The Role of Visceral Hypersensitivity in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Pharmacological Targets and Novel Treatments","volume":"22","author":"Farzaei","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Neurogastroenterol. Motil."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.5217\/ir.2019.00125","article-title":"Proinflammatory cytokines in irritable bowel syndrome: A comparison with inflammatory bowel disease","volume":"18","author":"Mitselou","year":"2020","journal-title":"Intest. Res."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2982.2008.01171.x","article-title":"Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"21","author":"Chang","year":"2009","journal-title":"Neurogastroenterol. Motil."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"304","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2005.11.033","article-title":"Hypothalamic-pituitary-gut axis dysregulation in irritable bowel syndrome: Plasma cytokines as a potential biomarker?","volume":"130","author":"Dinan","year":"2006","journal-title":"Gastroenterology"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14105","DOI":"10.3748\/wjg.v20.i39.14105","article-title":"Irritable bowel syndrome: A microbiome-gut-brain axis disorder?","volume":"20","author":"Kennedy","year":"2014","journal-title":"World J. Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"983","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psyneuen.2003.08.009","article-title":"Acute HPA axis responses, heart rate, and mood changes to psychosocial stress (TSST) in humans at different times of the day","volume":"29","author":"Kudielka","year":"2004","journal-title":"Psychoneuroendocrinology"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1102","DOI":"10.1136\/gut.2003.017962","article-title":"Altered visceral perceptual and neuroendocrine response in patients with irritable bowel syndrome during mental stress","volume":"53","author":"Posserud","year":"2004","journal-title":"Gut"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"626","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2982.2012.01915.x","article-title":"Anticipation of public speaking and sleep and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in women with irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"24","author":"Heitkemper","year":"2012","journal-title":"Neurogastroenterol. Motil."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Ganapathy, M.K., and Tadi, P. (2022). Anatomy, Head and Neck, Pituitary Gland. StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S216","DOI":"10.4103\/2230-8210.84871","article-title":"Imaging of the pituitary: Recent advances","volume":"15","author":"Chaudhary","year":"2011","journal-title":"Indian J. Endocrinol. Metab."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Masri, O.S., Abiad, B., Darwich, M.J., Sarkis, P.A., El Mollayess, G.M., Nasser, Z., Fares, Y., Al Ahmar, E., and Estephan, E. (2021). Morphological changes in amblyopic eyes in choriocapillaris and Sattler\u2019s layer in comparison to healthy eyes, and in retinal nerve fiber layer in comparison to fellow eyes through quantification of mean reflectivity: A pilot study. PLoS ONE, 16.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0255735"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-230X-8-30","article-title":"Evaluation of the Birmingham IBS symptom questionnaire","volume":"8","author":"Roalfe","year":"2008","journal-title":"BMC Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"919","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2036.2006.03078.x","article-title":"Review article: Modulation of the brain-gut axis as a therapeutic approach in gastrointestinal disease","volume":"24","author":"Mayer","year":"2006","journal-title":"Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5235","DOI":"10.1113\/jphysiol.2014.279968","article-title":"Modulation of enteric neurons by interleukin-6 and corticotropin-releasing factor contributes to visceral hypersensitivity and altered colonic motility in a rat model of irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"592","author":"Buckley","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"958","DOI":"10.1136\/gut.2003.018911","article-title":"Effect of a corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor antagonist on colonic sensory and motor function in patients with irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"53","author":"Sagami","year":"2004","journal-title":"Gut"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1253","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2013.08.016","article-title":"Impaired emotional learning and involvement of the corticotropin-releasing factor signaling system in patients with irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"145","author":"Labus","year":"2013","journal-title":"Gastroenterology"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3123","DOI":"10.1017\/S003329171400052X","article-title":"A sustained hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to acute psychosocial stress in irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"44","author":"Kennedy","year":"2014","journal-title":"Psychol. Med."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110694","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychores.2021.110694","article-title":"Emotional stress responsivity of patients with IBS\u2014A systematic review","volume":"153","author":"Schaper","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Psychosom. Res."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1065","DOI":"10.1100\/tsw.2003.93","article-title":"Visceral afferent pathways and functional brain imaging","volume":"3","author":"Derbyshire","year":"2003","journal-title":"Sci. World J."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2010.03.049","article-title":"Regional gray matter density changes in brains of patients with irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"139","author":"Seminowicz","year":"2010","journal-title":"Gastroenterology"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainres.2011.03.069","article-title":"White matter abnormalities in irritable bowel syndrome and relation to individual factors","volume":"1392","author":"Chen","year":"2011","journal-title":"Brain Res."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"185","DOI":"10.5056\/jnm21079","article-title":"Functional Neuroimaging in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review Highlights Common Brain Alterations With Functional Movement Disorders","volume":"28","author":"Rossi","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Neurogastroenterol. Motil."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"211","DOI":"10.1007\/s12664-019-00953-8","article-title":"Clinical and anorectal manometry profile of patients with functional constipation and constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome","volume":"38","author":"Goyal","year":"2019","journal-title":"Indian J. Gastroenterol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.3329\/bmj.v50i1.58248","article-title":"Faecal Calprotectin in Differentiating Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)","volume":"50","author":"Chowdhury","year":"2021","journal-title":"Bangladesh Med. J."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"El-Salhy, M., Hatlebakk, J.G., and Hausken, T. (2019). Diet in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): Interaction with Gut Microbiota and Gut Hormones. Nutrients, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/nu11081824"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fernandes, A.J.T., Farrell, A.L., Naveh, S.V., and Chakraborty, S. (2024). Stress reduction and psychological therapy for IBS: A scoping review. Front. Gastroenterol., 3.","DOI":"10.3389\/fgstr.2024.1342888"}],"container-title":["Journal of Imaging"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2313-433X\/10\/9\/226\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T15:55:15Z","timestamp":1760111715000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2313-433X\/10\/9\/226"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,13]]},"references-count":34,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9]]}},"alternative-id":["jimaging10090226"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jimaging10090226","relation":{},"ISSN":["2313-433X"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2313-433X"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,13]]}}}