This article mentions a couple natural remedies we can give a try for our IBS.
Peppermint Oil, Fiber Can Treat IBS
Study Shows Older Treatments Work Well for Irritable
Bowel Syndrome
Nov. 13, 2008 -- Largely overlooked, older remedies like peppermint oil and
fiber are effective treatments for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),
a review of the research shows.
The analysis shows that these remedies and some antispasmodic drugs that are no
longer widely prescribed work well, researcher Alexander C. Ford, MD, tells
WebMD.
Newer drugs that once held great promise for the treatment of the poorly
understood bowel disorder have largely proven disappointing, either because
serious side effects emerged or they were not very effective.
So there is currently no clear first-line treatment for patients with
irritable bowel syndrome, Ford says.
"Most of the treatments we examined have fallen out of clinical favor," he
says. "But they work, they are cheap, and they're far less toxic than some of
the newer drugs."
Some IBS Drugs Pulled From the Market
Surveys suggest that anywhere from 5% to 20% of people suffer from irritable
bowel syndrome, a disorder with a wide range of symptoms that may include crampy
abdominal
pain, gas, diarrhea,
and/or constipation.
In February 2000, Lotronex became the first drug approved in the U.S.
specifically to treat IBS, but it was withdrawn from the market later that year
because of potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal side effects.
The drug was later reintroduced, but its use is now restricted to women with
severe diarrhea-predominant IBS who have failed other treatments.
In March 2007, another IBS drug, Zelnorm, was also withdrawn from the market
by its maker, Novartis, at the request of the FDA because of an increased risk
for heart
attack and stroke.
"These new-generation drugs were going to be the magic bullets for IBS, but
it didn't turn out that way," King's College London professor of general
practice Roger Jones, DM, FRCP, tells WebMD. "I think this new paper is
important because it shows patients and their physicians that these older
treatments can be effective."
Peppermint Oil and Fiber
Ford and colleagues combined the results from 12 studies comparing fiber with
placebo or no treatment, 22 studies comparing different antispasmodic drugs to
placebo, and four studies examining treatment with peppermint oil.
Although there were fewer peppermint oil studies, the trials were well
designed and all showed peppermint oil to be effective.
Other highlights of the analysis include:
- Based on the combined data, the researchers estimated that one in 2.5
patients would get significant relief of symptoms if treated with peppermint
oil, compared to one in five patients taking antispasmodics and one in 11
patients taking fiber. Peppermint oil is sold in capsules, and the study
participants took about 200 milligrams two or three times a day.
- Insoluble bran-based fibers were not very effective, but soluble
psyllium-based fiber treatments like Metamucil were. When phyllium therapies
were considered on their own, one in six treated patients had significant
improvement in symptoms.
- When the 22 antispasmodic studies were combined, the drug scopolamine was
among the most effective. The researchers recommend scopolamine, which is
extracted from the corkwood tree, as the first-line antispasmodic treatment for
IBS.
Ford and colleagues concluded that psyllium-fiber therapy is a good
first-line treatment for constipation-predominant IBS, while peppermint oil and
scopolamine are good choices for diarrhea-predominant IBS.
The analysis appears in the latest issue of BMJ Online First. In an
accompanying editorial, Jones writes that the findings should reawaken interest
in these treatments and spur research into their use for IBS.
"We really don't know which patients benefit most from which type of
treatment," he tells WebMD.