What is alternative treatment for irritable bowel syndrome when conventional therapy has failed?
IBS remains a common intestinal disorder causing significant discomfort and poor quality of life in patients who have the diagnosis. TCAs have been shown to improve abdominal pain in patients with IBS; however, there is insufficient evidence of global symptom relief. The search for an optimal treatment to improve symptoms and quality of life in IBS remains ongoing. A research article to be published on August 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. In the randomized, controlled trial, the efficacy of imipramine in the treatment of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was studied. Patients diagnosed with IBS who failed treatment with conventional therapy were enrolled to receive a 12-week course of low-dose imipramine. The effects were recorded periodically based on the patients’ subjective sense of global relief and their responses to a standardized quality-of-life questionnaire. The results were significant for showing improvement in global symp
