Local antimicrobial therapy with rifaximin: A novel perspective for irritable bowel syndrome
Journal Title: Αρχεία Ελληνικής Ιατρικής - Year 2008, Vol 25, Issue 6
Abstract
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) belongs to a unified group of functional diseases of gastrointestinal tract. Typical symptoms are abdominal pain, bloating and alterations of bowel habits. Recent data reveal that bacterial overgrowth of the microflora of upper gastrointestinal tract is the main pathogenetic mechanism leading to IBS. This mechanism could explain the symptom of bloating. Rifaximin is a semi-synthetic derivative, produced by modification of the molecule of rifamycin. It is a poorly absorbable antimicrobial with localized action at the intestinal level. Six clinical trials have been conducted in patients with IBS where rifaximin was administered in an effort to inhibit bacterial overgrowth. Clinical benefit was observed, consisting of significant and persistent relief of symptoms, mainly bloating and abdominal distention which was sustained on cessation of treatment. Alterations of bacterial gut flora observed during therapy fully returned to normal on cessation of treatment. The administration of 800 mg of rifaximin daily relieves bloating; monthly periodic treatment leads to sustained clinical benefit.
Authors and Affiliations
V. KOUSSOULAS, E. GIAMARELLOS-BOURBOULIS
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP118626
- DOI -
- Views 70
- Downloads 0
Spurious hypophosphatemia
No abstract available
Assessment of nursing staff on knowledge about cancer pain
OBJECTIVE Assessment of the level of knowledge of the nursing staff about cancer pain. METHOD A quantitative cross study was conducted. Randomized sampling was performed and 174 nurses and nursing assistants took part...
Epidemiology of deaths from respiratory tract neoplasms. A 20-year study in the Pieria prefecture
OBJECTIVE The World Health Organization (WHO) urges its member countries to present data on the epidemiology of the causes of death. There have been no reports on deaths from neoplasms of the respiratory system in the va...
Nocardia infection of the brain
No abstract available
An unusual case of severe thrombocytopenia in a patient with unstable angina
Thrombocytopenia is a common side effect of the drugs presently used in the management of acute coronary syndromes. Heparin mediated immune thrombocytopenia is the most important cause of thrombocytopenia attributabl...