The studies, which were presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas, also suggest a possible overlap of symptoms of IBS and inflammatory bowel disease.
One study, titled “Mesalamine Granules 1500 mg Once daily for 12 Weeks Provides Adequate Relief of IBS Symptoms in Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea: Results from a Phase 2 Trial” and conducted by researchers from California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, found that mesalamine granules improved abdominal pain and stool consistency in diarrhea-predominant IBS.
In the second study, titled “Tricyclic Antidepressants in the Management of IBD Patients with Functional GI Symptoms” and conducted by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, found that tricyclic antidepressants may be effective in managing moderately-severe functional IBD symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea.
“One theory is that IBS develops subsequent to an inflammatory process or infectious process in the GI tract,” said Brian E. Lacy, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Medical School and the director of the GI motility laboratory at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., in the release. “Microscopic inflammation can then persist in the lining of the GI tract, or the adjacent lymph nodes. This inflammation may produce symptoms of pain and diarrhea similar to those experienced by patients with Crohn’s disease. Thus, it is quite likely that an overlap exists between IBS and IBD, both with respect to etiology and symptoms.”
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