The cause of abdominal pain in patients with irritable bowel syndrome has been identified by researchers. As a result, they were able to select a medicine that could reduce or end that pain. This medicine is already used to treat hay fever. IBS patients have extremely sensitive bowels associated with increased pain perception. The exact cause of this hypersensitivity has long been unknown. Researchers already knew that the bowels of patients with IBS contain larger quantities of the substance histamine, but the specific link with hypersensitivity had not yet been made.
KU Leuven professor of gastroenterology Guy Boeckxstaens and his team have now shown that histamine has an impact on the pain receptor TRPV1. In IBS patients, histamine released in the gut makes TRPV1 hypersensitive. The histamine interferes with the histamine 1 receptor on nerves that contain TRPV1. Importantly, they discovered that blocking the histamine1 receptor prevented the sensitising effect of histamine on TRPV1. Taken together, these findings identify the mechanism behind IBS patients’ increased pain perception.
On the basis of these findings, the researchers designed a pilot clinical study in IBS to evaluate the effect of a substance that blocks the histamine 1 receptor on the nerves, so that the sensitivity of TRPV1 no longer increases. This substance, ebastine, is already used in hay fever medication. Patients who were treated with ebastine for 12 weeks had significantly less abdominal pain than patients from the control group. A follow-up study will test the effect of ebastine on 200 IBS patients.
IBS affects 10-15% of the population. Current Rx normalises the defecation pattern but has not reduced or ended abdominal pain experienced by IBS patients. The results of this study may help change that. https://www.kuleuven.be/english/news/2016/hay-fever-medicine-reduces-symptoms-of-irritable-bowel-syndrome
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