Revival of 5-HT3 antagonism as treatment of IBS-D?

While drug development for chronic constipation and IBS with constipation has moved ahead with the marketing of prucalopride and linaclotide in many countries, the development of agents for functional diarrhoea and IBS-D has been more troubled. With the limited availability of the serotonin (5-HT)3 antagonist alosetron, the global market of drugs for diarrhoeal disorders is still led by agents developed 40–60 years ago, including opioid receptor agonists (eg, loperamide), bile acid binders (eg, cholestyramine) and tricyclic antidepressants (eg, amitriptyline). Clearly, the development of new effective and safe drugs for diarrhoeal disorders is greatly needed to provide more options for patients and physicians, higher efficacy and fewer side effects. The problem is of great relevance as diarrhoea is the second leading gastrointestinal symptom after abdominal pain prompting an outpatient clinic visit in the USA. IBS-D affects about 3% of the general population and accounts for approximately 20% of gastroenterology outpatient visits...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research