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Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome: Does Gender Matter? How Does It Affect the Health of Women?

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Gastrointestinal and Liver Disorders in Women’s Health

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Abstract

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder that affects 2% of the US population. It is characterized by recurrent stereotypic episodes of nausea and vomiting interspersed with periods of few or no symptoms and is diagnosed using Rome IV criteria. CVS occurs more often in women, though there was a male preponderance in some studies. The pathophysiology of CVS is not known, but dysregulation of the brain-gut axis, genetic factors, autonomic dysfunction, and dysfunction of the endocannabinoid system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been proposed. CVS is associated with multiple comorbid conditions such as migraines, anxiety, depression, and autonomic dysfunction, which all tend to cluster in families with a matrilineal inheritance pattern supporting mitochondrial dysfunction as a proposed mechanism. Despite these data, there are no studies to indicate that CVS is a hereditary condition. How CVS affects pregnancy and the converse is poorly understood. Systematic studies to determine the effects of CVS on pregnancy, perinatal and fetal outcomes, and how it affects the gastrointestinal health of women should be a priority.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to gratefully acknowledge Melissa Rose, RN, for her assistance in preparing Table 4.2 for patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Western Reserve Health Education/NEOMED, Warren, OH, USA

    Vishnu Charan Suresh Kumar

  2. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Thangam Venkatesan

Authors
  1. Vishnu Charan Suresh Kumar
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  2. Thangam Venkatesan
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Correspondence to Thangam Venkatesan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Poonam Beniwal-Patel

  2. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Reza Shaker

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Suresh Kumar, V.C., Venkatesan, T. (2019). Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome: Does Gender Matter? How Does It Affect the Health of Women?. In: Beniwal-Patel, P., Shaker, R. (eds) Gastrointestinal and Liver Disorders in Women’s Health . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25626-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25626-5_4

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25626-5

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