Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Among the top stories in gastroenterology last week were the FDA’s revision of draft guidance on the clinical evaluation of gastroparesis drugs and a study that found patients with Crohn’s disease are at higher risk for myocardial infarction than the general population.

Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center identified an overlap of gastrointestinal and psychosomatic symptoms between patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome and functional diarrhea.

Although patients with diarrhea- and constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome tend to find their condition equally bothersome, they find their lives impacted in different ways, according to survey results.

Among the top stories in gastroenterology last week were the FDA issuing a safety alert and approving a boxed warning for the use of Xeljanz in patients with ulcerative colitis and a study that found patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at increased risk for venous thromboembolism for up two months after discharge from the hospital.

SAN DIEGO — Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders who underwent 3-month multidisciplinary treatment experienced superior symptom improvement compared with patients who only saw a gastroenterologist, according to data presented at Digestive Disease Week.

SAN DIEGO — Roughly half of patients who go on a low-FODMAP diet to treat diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome do not respond to the change in diet. According to data presented at Digestive Disease Week, many of those patients could have a genetic variant that causes a deficiency of the sucrase-isomaltase enzyme.

SAN DIEGO — Orally delivered fecal microbiota transplantation did not help reduce symptoms in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome whether or not they were pre-treated with antibiotics, according to data presented at Digestive Disease Week.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a common gastrointestinal condition, affecting approximately 30 million people in the United States. The hallmark of this condition is change in bowel movements, such as diarrhea, constipation or slow-moving stools. Other symptoms include abdominal pain and cramping, fatigue and more. IBS can be treated by diet or lifestyle changes, medications, or probiotics.

Healio spoke with Linda Nguyen, MD, about distinguishing between IBS-C, CIC and other types of constipation, new developments in IBS-C, considerations of the low FODMAP diet and the need for better IBS diagnosis.

Healio spoke with Linda Nguyen, MD, about distinguishing between IBS-C, CIC and other types of constipation, new developments in IBS-C, considerations of the low FODMAP diet and the need for better IBS diagnosis.