Studies Suggest Possible Overlap of IBS Symptoms and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Research unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas suggests a possible overlap of symptoms of two prevalent GI disorders: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and further suggests a possible link between subtle GI tract inflammation and IBS symptoms--a link that is also the focus of the first systemic review of the literature on this topic and an editorial both published in this month's American Journal of Gastroenterology. One study presented today found that mesalamine granules, an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat ulcerative colitis, improved abdominal pain and stool consistency in diarrhea-predominant IBS. In the second study, researchers found that tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)--which are commonly used to treat IBS patients--may be effective in managing moderately-severe functional symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.