Antibiotic gives long acting relief to irritable bowel sufferers

Researchers in the U.S. say that a long-acting antibiotic can help treat the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles say the antibiotic rifaximin reduced symptoms such as bloating, cramps, diarrhea and constipation for as long as 10 weeks after it was given in a 10-day course.

According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 20 percent of American adults suffer from IBS which is also known as spastic colon.

IBS affects the part of the digestive tract that is responsible for stool production and impeded bowel functioning associated with the disorder can result in cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea and constipation.

At present there is no cure for IBS and the disorder is usually treated with a combination of dietary alterations (eliminating foods such as caffeine, alcohol, sodas, dairy and high-fat foods), medicines (laxatives, antispasmodics and antidepressants) and stress counseling.

In severe cases the condition can be quite disabling and adversely affects people's lives.

Although the exact cause is unknown it is thought to be related to bacteria that naturally live in the gut.

Patients with irritable bowel syndrome, have muscles in the colon which do not function normally and may spasm.

Dr. Mark Pimentel and colleagues at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles discovered when they gave 87 sufferers in Chicago and Los Angeles, either 400 mg of rifaximin three times a day for 10 days or a placebo, the rifaximin helped overall symptoms and the benefits lasted for 10 weeks.

Rifaximin is an antibiotic which targets bacterial "overgrowth" in the small intestine and is used to treat travelers' diarrhea.

Dr. Pimentel says the fact that the benefit of the targeted antibiotic continued even after it was stopped provides evidence that the antibiotic was acting on a source of the problem: excess bacteria in the gut".

He says this offers a new treatment approach and a new hope for people with IBS.

Pimentel's team says larger, long-term studies are now needed to explore rifaximin's potential side effects, as well as its benefits for IBS sufferers, and to compare the drug's effectiveness up against other IBS treatments.

The study is published in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.