Trial Confirms Antidepressant Improves IBS in Primary Care

People who received low-dose amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms that persisted despite dietary changes and first-line treatments such as analgesics experienced an improvement in IBS severity and symptoms compared with those who received a placebo. More people discontinued the placebo than amitriptyline due to adverse events, according to results from a phase 3 randomized clinical trial involving 463 participants from 55 primary care practices in the UK. In addition, there was no difference between the groups in anxiety, depression, or ability to work after 6 months.
Source: JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research