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Pinaverium bromide (pinaverium), an antispasmodic, is used widely in many countries around the world, including European countries, Canada and Mexico. However, original clinical studies on pinaverium are scarce and there has been no convincing evidence for its effectiveness and safety. As such, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved this treatment for use in the U.S. IBS is the most common chronic (life-long in some patients) and highly recurrent gastrointestinal disorder, with an estimated worldwide prevalence of 10 to 15%.
Lead study author Liang Zheng from the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine said that there is no cure for IBS and no gold standard of treatment. To help the patients suffering from this disorder, they need to gather reliable data to evaluate the effectiveness and safety profile of new treatment options.
A significantly higher percentage of patients receiving pinaverium reported that their IBS symptoms improved (60%) than in the placebo group (34%).
In the pinaverium group, 29% of patients believed that their IBS symptoms stayed the same and 11% said they worsened. Zheng said that this study confirms that pinaverium is an effective and safe option for IBS patients, making it a viable first-line therapy for patients. Pinaverium has no severe adverse effects; common side effects included nausea (3.7%), dizziness (3.2%), increased blood pressure (2.3%) and abdominal discomfort (2.3%). The study is published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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