An antibiotic called Rifaximin has been shown to cure IBS in 40 percent of patients involved in a clinical trial.
Amy McMahon works out and eats right and it shows.
So when this 50 year old began to bloat uncontrollably she knew something was wrong.
It took nine months of failed treatments and testing before McMahon was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.
Dr. Mark Pimentel treated her at Cedars Sinai Medical Center with an antibiotic called Rifaximin.
Of 1,200 IBS patients taking part in the study, 40 percent said they felt better with the antibiotic and symptoms went away. The drug targets bacteria in the small intestine:
Pimentel and his researchers were the first to figure out that bacteria was causing IBS -- until then, doctors would often link ibs to stress and treat sufferers with anti-depressants.
"This is the first antibiotic this rifaxamin that treats IBS,” Pimental said. “they get better and stay better. Every other therapy we've used as soon as you stop it they get sick again.”
Currently Rifaximin is not FDA approved to treat IBS although doctors can still choose to prescribe it.
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