Chandramowlishwaran Pavithra, Raja Shreya, Maheshwari Akhil, Srinivasan Shanthi
Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA, USA.
Gastroenterology Research, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA, USA.
Curr Pediatr Rev. 2022;18(1):9-24. doi: 10.2174/1573396317666210908162745.
The pathophysiology of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is not clear, but increasing information suggests that the risk and severity of NEC may be influenced by abnormalities in the enteric nervous system (ENS).
The purpose of this review was to scope and examine the research related to ENS-associated abnormalities that have either been identified in NEC or have been noted in other inflammatory bowel disorders (IBDs) with histopathological abnormalities similar to NEC. The aim was to summarize the research findings, identify research gaps in existing literature, and disseminate them to key knowledge end-users to collaborate and address the same in future studies.
Articles that met the objectives of the study were identified through an extensive literature search in the databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus.
The sources identified through the literature search revealed that: (1) ENS may be involved in NEC development and post-NEC complications, (2) NEC development is associated with changes in the ENS, and (3) NEC-associated changes could be modulated by the ENS.
The findings from this review identify the enteric nervous as a target in the development and progression of NEC. Thus, factors that can protect the ENS can potentially prevent and treat NEC and post-NEC complications. This review serves to summarize the existing literature and highlights a need for further research on the involvement of ENS in NEC.
坏死性小肠结肠炎（NEC）的病理生理学尚不清楚，但越来越多的信息表明，NEC的风险和严重程度可能受肠神经系统（ENS）异常的影响。
本综述的目的是梳理和研究与ENS相关异常有关的研究，这些异常要么在NEC中已被识别，要么在组织病理学异常与NEC相似的其他炎症性肠病（IBD）中已被注意到。目的是总结研究结果，找出现有文献中的研究空白，并将其传播给关键的知识终端用户，以便在未来的研究中合作解决这些问题。
通过在PubMed、EMBASE和Scopus数据库中进行广泛的文献检索，确定符合研究目标的文章。
通过文献检索确定的资料显示：（1）ENS可能参与NEC的发生发展及NEC后的并发症；（2）NEC的发生发展与ENS的变化有关；（3）与NEC相关的变化可由ENS调节。
本综述的结果确定肠神经系统是NEC发生发展过程中的一个靶点。因此，能够保护ENS的因素可能预防和治疗NEC及NEC后的并发症。本综述旨在总结现有文献，并强调有必要进一步研究ENS在NEC中的作用。
