Demographic and physiological characteristics of patients with high-PA and low-PA IBS
| High PA (n=11) | Low PA (n=28) | |
| Demographic characteristics | ||
| Age (mean, SD) | 38.7, 12.1 | 44.1, 14.4 |
| Female/male | 8/3 | 25/3 |
| HADS anxiety score (mean, SD) | 5.0, 4.9 | 4.0, 2.3 |
| HADS depression score (mean, SD) | 2.6, 3.6 | 1.3, 1.7 |
| IBS symptom severity score (mean, SD) | 293, 88 | 211, 76* |
| IBS quality of life score (mean, SD) | 38.5, 17.0 | 28.6, 15.1 |
| Ex vivo colonic barrier | ||
| Transmucosal resistance (mean, SD) Ω*cm2 | 16.1, 7.0 | 21.1, 6.7† |
| 4 KDa FITC flux at 3 hours (mg) | 350.9, 429.9 | 135.5, 175.4* |
| In vivo colonic permability | ||
| 2–24 hour cumulative lactulose excretion (mg) | 5.98, 5.6 | 2.48, 1.7* |
| Characteristics of subset chosen for PA inhibition and barrier experiments | High PA (n=6) | Low PA (n=6) |
| Demographic characteristics | ||
| Age (mean, SD) | 39.8, 7.9 | 37.2, 14.8 |
| Female/male | 5/1 | 5/1 |
| HADS anxiety score (mean, SD) | 3.3, 3.5 | 3.5, 2.4 |
| HADS depression score (mean, SD) | 1.3, 1.8 | 1.5, 1.4 |
| IBS symptom severity score (mean, SD) | 314, 88 | 192, 72* |
| IBS quality of life score (mean, SD) | 37.3, 13.4 | 36.9, 15.6 |
| Ex vivo colonic barrier | ||
| Transmucosal resistance (mean, SD) Ω*cm2 | 14.4, 6.1 | 19.4, 7.1 |
| 4 KDa FITC flux at 3 hours (mg) | 479.5, 485.5 | 249.4, 340.7 |
| In vivo colonic permeability | ||
| 2–24 hour cumulative lactulose excretion (mg) | 8.8, 6.9 | 2.9, 2.3 |
↵*P<0.05.
†P=0.07, non-parametric t-test (Mann-Whitney).
FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate; PA, proteolytic activity.