The Burden of Irritable Bowel Syndrome - An Unmet Need

Main Category: Irritable-Bowel Syndrome
Article Date: 07 Nov 2005 - 22:00 PDT

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There is a growing body of medical evidence that demonstrates IBS is an underappreciated medical condition that can significantly reduce a person's quality of life. Those with IBS often miss work, important social events or school. They also visit physicians more frequently than do healthy individuals, resulting in increased health care costs. For example, the condition has been estimated to cost the UK healthcare system more than £200 million per year.

"IBS is an often misunderstood and underestimated condition affecting millions of people, many of whom are suffering in silence," said Professor Pali Hungin, Director of the Centre for Integrated Health Care Research and Dean of Medicine, Durham University, UK "All too often, sufferers are missing out on important life events - graduations, family holidays, fulfilling relationships - because they are unaware that they have a recognizable condition."

Impact of IBS in Europe

Although as many as two-thirds of patients with IBS symptoms do not seek medical treatment, it still represents a significant part of the primary care physician's workload. For example, a study conducted in the UK found that approximately 50 percent of patients who were referred to a gastroenterology clinic over a five-year period had IBS. It is estimated that direct and indirect expenditures due to IBS costs the eight most industrialized countries $41 billion annually.

About Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C)

Irritable Bowel Syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) is a recurrent disorder characterized by the multiple chronic dysmotility symptoms of abdominal pain and discomfort, bloating, and constipation.

Serotonin (5HT), a naturally occurring chemical in the body that regulates motility and pain perception in the intestinal system, is thought to play an important role in the normal activities of the GI tract. Serotonin is believed to influence the movement of food and waste through the body. Researchers have found that an imbalance of serotonin in the gut leads to increased pain perception and dysfunction of the digestive muscles leading to IBS symptoms.

There is currently no effective treatment available in Europe for the multiple dysmotility symptoms of IBS. Traditional treatment for the condition has included a constellation of symptom-specific approaches, which may worsen concurrent symptoms.

SOURCE: ruderfinn.co.uk

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