Plecanatide & Linaclotide are two drugs made by two different companies but both target Irritable Bowel Syndrome in a similar way.
Plecanatide is being developed by Synergy Pharmaceuticals while Linaclotide is being developed by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. These drugs are targeted towards those with constipation predominant IBS with associated IBS related abdominal pain. Continue reading “Plecanatide & Linaclotide, Similar Experimental Treatments For IBS” »
I recently received a comment on my blog that at first seemed legit but later revealed itself as nothing more than scammy spam. The poster was explaining their life with Crohn’s Disease & how debilitating it was. There was actually a great deal of content to this comment & what the person talked about sounded rather convincing. The only problem was that near the end of the comment they started talking about how while nothing else worked, they found someone who would cast a spell for them & miraculously they started to heal from their Crohn’s Disease. What modern medicine & alternative therapies couldn’t treat, wiring a random stranger money so they could write a spell for you did.
Yeah right! Continue reading “Beware of Health “Spell” Scams” »
I reported about a study on Rifaximin a few months ago. I was not that impressed by the results at that time. Well there has been a new study released on Rifaxmin showing pretty much the same unimpressive results. The facts are still that only about 11% saw benefit over placebo. That difference seems even more dubious what with the recent placebo study showing a similar level of efficacy. Who knows if the Rifaximin is really doing anything at all? Additionally patients are only tracked for 10-weeks, there is no information for what happens after that. It appears I am not alone in my concerns regarding the study. If you check out the comments on the study you’ll find there are a few doctors chiming in with their concerns:
“Here we go on another journey into a poorly supported area of new treatment…….this article barely shows a statistically signifincant difference, and certainly not a convincing one.” – MICHAEL ELIASTAM, MD
“This study is problematic in several ways, not least of which is the long list of companies involved, and somehow attached to the trial’s outcome.” – DAVID GLUCK, MD
“As a practicing gastroenterologist for 12 years as well as an IBS sufferer for almost 40, I realized long ago that we cannot treat IBS with a pill and that IBS is for life, and not for 10 weeks. I have been following Dr. Pimental’s studies for years, and I have yet to see anything last as long as the stress and psychological manipulation techniques that I and many others have been advocating for years.” – KIMBERLY CUSATO, MD
So buyer beware, Rifaximin may not be all it’s cracked up to be or what the hype my have you believe.
A recently published study has some interesting insight on how the placebo effect may help Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients. A placebo in medical terms is essentially a “fake treatment” usually used to test the validity of drugs during testing. When a drug is being tested, patients are split into different control groups. One group is given a placebo(often a sugar pill) while the other is given the actual drug. The two groups are compared to see how effective the drug was versus the placebo. The interesting thing about the placebo is that in many cases people will see improvement in their symptoms during these studies even when they’re taking the placebo. This is called the “placebo effect”, where by the body responds to the notion that whatever they are being given is of benefit & somehow improves the persons condition despite the fact that there was nothing special in the pill. The actual reasons behind the placebo effect are still unknown, but it is quite interesting that the body has this response and it might prove beneficial for some people as this study shows. Continue reading “Some Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients Respond to Placebo” »
There has been some recent news on the drug Rifaximin(brand name XIFAXAN) showing some promising results for treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Rifaximin is an anti-biotic that is poorly absorbed by the body. What this means is that most of it stays in the gut where it attacks bacteria. The idea here is that harmful bacteria create toxins in the body causing neurocognitive and neuromuscular dysfunction. By using Rifaximin you can kill off these bacteria and hopefully restore the gut to it’s regular functions. Continue reading “News: Rifaximin For Irritable Bowel Syndrome” »
Review: Iberogast for Irritable Bowel(IBS) – Buy Iberogast from Amazon.com
Today I’ll be reviewing Iberogast, a natural herbal pro-kinetic motility agent distributited by Medical Futures & Flordis.
warning: According to the the Flordis website, Iberogast contains Ethanol which may be derived from corn. If you have a severe corn allergy, you should not use Iberogast.
So first off, what is a motility?
Motility is basically another word for movement. Movement in your digestive tract is obviously important. It’s especially important that these movements are coordinated. A lot of digestive problems can be linked to poor motility, such as chronic indigestion, gastroparesis, constipation or diarrhea. Continue reading “Review: Iberogast for Irritable Bowel Syndrome & Gastroparesis” »