discussion title:
Do you think they will ever find a cure
for IBS? Do you think they are on the right tract with their studies?? Here is something to ponder and give your input:
Irritable Bowel Syndrome causes cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea and constipation. There is no cure but a long-lasting antibiotic might be the next best thing.
Cynthia Greenspan has suffered with IBS.
She says, "I had a couch and there was indentations in it that I had made because I would just stay there. Couldn’t eat, constant spasms in my stomach, gurgling. And then on the flip side, I’d still have the pain or I’d be constipated.”
Now Cynthia is finding relief thanks to a new antibiotic study at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
Dr. Mark Pimentel says, "The antibiotic that we’ve most recently begun to study is called rifaximin.”
Unlike most antibiotics that are absorbed by the bloodstream and travel to other parts of the body, rifaximin stays in the gut and kills bacteria in the small intestine, a possible cause of IBS.
Dr. Pimentel says, "We found that in the majority of IBS patients a special test called the lactulose breath test, which is a way to determine the level of bacteria in the small intestine, was positive. So we’re trying to get rid of them from the small bowel hoping that the IBS will get better, and that’s what we saw.”
Patients received the drug for 10 days but symptom relief lasted 10 weeks after treatment stopped.
"The importance of that is that it suggests we’re treating a cause of IBS for the first time rather than simply compensating for diarrhea by slowing things down,” Dr. Pimentel says.
“I was all smiles," Cynthia says. "And I was like, thank you, thank you.”
The study is ongoing and the ultimate treatment may have two steps. The second step involves a drug used for constipation to keep the bacteria from coming back. Rifaximin is approved by the FDA for traveler's diarrhea.
Fast Facts:
About 20 percent of Americans have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a condition marked by episodes of diarrhea, constipation, or alternating diarrhea and constipation.
Doctors can often treat symptoms but there is no cure for IBS.
Breath testing suggests IBS might be caused by an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine.
Short term use of an antibiotic, called rifaximin, may temporarily eliminate bacteria linked to IBS and provide relief for up to 10 weeks.
Researchers are now testing the use of another drug, tegaserod maleate, can help prevent overgrowth of bacteria for longer periods of time.
What do you think?? Sound promising?? Would you do this??
