Potential Causes and Present Pharmacotherapy of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: An Overview

Abstract

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is currently one of the most common disorders of the digestive system in the Western society. Almost 2 out of 10 people suffer from IBS with women being more affected than men. IBS is associated with abdominal pain, bloating and altered stool consistency and imposes a heavy burden for the affected patients. Summary: The pathophysiology of IBS remains elusive although potential causes have been suggested, such as a deranged brain-gut signaling, hypersensitivity of visceral sensory afferent fibers, bacterial gastroenteritis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), genetic alterations and food sensitivity. Targets for the pharmacotherapy of IBS include the serotonergic and opioidergic system, and the microbial population of the gut. Alternative therapies like traditional Chinese medicine have shown some success in the combat against IBS. Key Messages: Many therapeutics for the treatment of IBS have emerged in the past; however, only a few have met up with the expectations in larger clinical trials. Additionally, the multifactorial etiology of IBS and its variety of cardinal symptoms requires an individual set of therapeutics. This review provides a short overview of potential causes and current pharmacological therapeutics and of additional and alternative therapies for IBS.

The Protective Effect ofMelissa officinalisL. in Visceral Hypersensitivity in Rat Using 2 Models of Acid-induced Colitis and Stress-induced Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Possible Role of Nitric Oxide Pathway

“…1 IBS is generally characterized by symptoms such as abdominal pain and discomfort, bloating, altered bowel habit, and disturbed gastrointestinal motility, among which abdominal pain have been seen in almost all the patients. 2 These symptoms are associated with miscommunication between the neural, endocrine and immune systems. The pathophysiology of IBS is not fully understood; however, gastrointestinal infections, psychosocial stressors, as well as low-grade inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract due to the activation of mucosal immune system can be considered as the main contributing factors in the pathophysiology of the disease.…”

G protein‐coupled estrogen receptor and estrogen receptor ligands regulate colonic motility and visceral pain

“…Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a multifactorial functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder, which involves not only the GI tract but also peripheral and central nervous systems . The most common symptoms of IBS are recurrent abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits due to changes in GI motility.…”

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“…In addition, exacerbation of IBS symptoms has been shown to be associated with intolerance or allergies to certain foods . About a third (27%) of IBS patients were lactose intolerant, and 39% of them demonstrated improvement in symptoms after a low‐lactose diet .…”