The age-related alerations in the enteric nervous system and their impact on peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract.

Constipation occurs more often in old patients, because the intestinal peristalsis decreases with aging. Constipation is caused due to impaired motility of the intestines, intestinal barrier damage and the imbalance between the absorption and secretion of water and electrolytes, as well as disturbed production and release of intestinal hormones, infiltration of the gastrointestinal tract with immune cells, excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the alterations in the functions of enteric nervous system. In this review we will discuss the most important issues associated with the process of aging of the digestive tract, focusing on the enteric nervous system.

The place of sphingosine-1-phosphate modulators in the therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases / Zastosowanie modulatorów receptorów sfingozyno-1-fosforanu w leczeniu nieswoistych chorób zapalnych jelit.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) belongs to the group of biologically active sphingolipids. Because of its ability to regulate the migration of lymphocytes, S1P constitutes an important element of pathophysiology of several diseases, such as: lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis or inflammatory bowel diseases. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are the group of chronic and recurrent diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The most common among IBD are: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Drugs that are currently used in the therapy of IBD alleviate symptoms, improve patients' quality of life and induce remission but their efficacy is not satisfactory. Modulators of S1P receptors constitu­te an emerging option in the therapy of IBD. In this review we will discuss the role of S1P, its receptor and enzymes that participate in the metabolism of S1P under physiological conditions and in the course of IBD. Moreover, we will sum up the results of preclinical and clinical studies on S1P receptors modulators in IBD.