How effective is tegaserod for the treatment of female patients with mixed subtype ibs?

ABSTRACT This Practice Point commentary discusses the findings and limitations of a study by Chey and colleagues that evaluated the safety and efficacy of tegaserod in women with mixed

subtype IBS (alternating constipation and diarrhea) or constipation-predominant IBS. This trial, the largest performed in patients with mixed subtype IBS, demonstrated improvement in both

global and individual IBS symptoms in patients treated with tegaserod (6 mg twice daily) compared with those receiving placebo. Tegaserod was generally well tolerated, with the most common

adverse event being diarrhea. The limitations of the study include short duration (4 weeks) and the absence of men. This trial confirms the outcomes of previous studies demonstrating that

pharmacologic modulation of the serotonin system can improve IBS symptoms in some patients. Unfortunately, the immediate clinical relevance of this study is now questionable, given the

withdrawal of tegaserod from the US market in March 2007. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS

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institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support REFERENCES * Lacy BE _ et al_. (2006). Physicians' attitudes and practices in the evaluation and treatment of

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Gastroenterol_ 103: 1217–1225 Article  CAS  Google Scholar  Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION Author notes * Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Section of Gastroenterology and

Hepatology, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA [email protected] AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * BE Lacy is Associate Professor of Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and

Director of the GI Motility Laboratory at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, USA., Brian E Lacy Authors * Brian E Lacy View author publications You can also search for this

author inPubMed Google Scholar ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS Brian E Lacy has received investigator-initiated, unrestricted educational grants from Novartis and Sucampo. He has

also served on the Speaker's Bureau of Takeda Pharmaceuticals. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Lacy, B. How effective is tegaserod

for the treatment of female patients with mixed subtype IBS?. _Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol_ 5, 664–665 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpgasthep1278 Download citation * Received: 17 July

2008 * Accepted: 09 September 2008 * Published: 14 October 2008 * Issue Date: December 2008 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpgasthep1278 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following

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