Antibiotic found helpful in treating IBS

IBS affects nearly 15 percent adults in America, and till now no specific cause of the disease is known. It is considered a gastrointestinal disorder and the recurring symptoms of the disease are aggravated with stress.

The antibiotic is not absorbed quickly
IBS patients are believed to have changes in the microorganisms which led the researchers to select this drug for trials as the researchers thought that it may perform better than other antibiotics, which are quickly absorbed by the body.

The researchers choose Rifaximin because it stays in the gut for a longer period and is minimally absorbed. The drug already has FDA approval for hepatic encephalopathy and traveler’s diarrhea.

“The drug passes through the gut and gets rid of the bacteria in the small bowel that [are believed to] cause the problem.” – Dr. Mark Pimental, the study’s lead researcher

The study was conducted by the team headed by Dr. Mark Pimental of the Cedars Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles. More than twelve hundred patients were involved in the study. The patients had diarrhea and bloating of varied severity.

Study results encouraging
Dr. Pimental’s group divided the twelve hundred IBS patients in two groups to conduct two parallel studies. Patients from both groups were given either a placebo or a 550 mg dose of the antibiotic, for two weeks, thrice a day.

While nearly 41 percent patients, who were given the antibiotic, admitted relief from the symptoms of IBS, only 30 percent of the patients given the placebo had some relief.

The relief lasted for ten weeks during the follow up after the study.

Dr. Pimental said, “The drug passes through the gut and gets rid of the bacteria in the small bowel that [are believed to] cause the problem.”

Dr. Jan Tack, of University of Leuven, Belgium, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study that the drug used in the study is an “appealing antibiotic for the purpose and has few, if any, side effects.”

He, however, emphasized the need for further research. The sustained benefits and short duration of the treatment attracted him.

FDA approval applied for by manufacturing company
The study was funded by the drug company, Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc., makers of Rifaximin. Dr. Pimental is on the scientific advisory board of the company. Cedar Sinai Medical Centre holds the patent on the use of Rifoximin and had licensed Salix to manufacture the drug.

The present study looked at the patients who had non-constipation form of IBS. Dr. Pimental says that now he is studying the patients who have IBS along with constipation. The results are expected within a year.

Meanwhile, Salix spokesman, Mike Freeman, said that the company has applied for FDA approval for non-constipation form of IBS and related bloating.