Irritable bowel syndrome affects the gut and causes great pain and discomfort. Modern treatments help make life easier; pharmaceutical research is exploring promising new approaches.
Disease: Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Last update: May 2005
Intro
FAQ
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What is it?
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a disorder of the gut characterised by abdominal pain and changes in stool frequency and form. The pain is normally relieved by defecation and the symptoms can vary between constipation and diarrhoea.
Disturbance in the way the brain and nervous system regulate the bowel is thought to cause irritable bowel syndrome.
Though it is not a life threatening condition, it can severely affect the sufferer's quality of life. -
Who gets it?
About one in five people get IBS at some point in their lives. Women are more commonly affected than men, and in fifty per cent of sufferers the symptoms begin before the age of 35. Onset and recurrence of IBS is often linked to stress, though this is not thought to be the causative factor. -
What can be done about it?
Most treatments for IBS concentrate on controlling the sufferer's most troublesome symptom of the condition. Laxatives or anti-diarrhoeal medications are given to control bowel movements. Antispasmodic medications are used to reduce abdominal pain.
Some recently introduced IBS therapies have now been shown to treat multiple symptoms of the condition effectively. -
What does the future hold?
New therapies to control both the symptoms of constipation and diarrhoea are currently undergoing clinical trials. There is also much promising research taking place into the role of the nervous system in IBS, which could lead to some promising new treatment approaches.