Novel sequential stress model for functional dyspepsia: Efficacy of the herbal preparation STW5

Abstract Background Many screening procedures for agents with potential usefulness in functional dyspepsia (FD) rely on animals exposed to stress early in life (neonatal maternal separation, NMS) or in adulthood (restraint stress, RS). Purpose Since many clinical cases of FD have been associated with stress in early life followed by stress in adulthood, a sequential model simulating the clinical situation is described. To explore the validity of the model, the efficacy of STW5, a multicomponent herbal preparation of proven usefulness in FD, was tested. Study design/methods A sequential stress model established where rats are exposed to NMS after birth followed later by RS in adulthood. Stre…