Source: Endocrine  |  Posted 9 years ago

Alosetron has a positive impact on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, as well as pain and discomfort in non-constipated female patients, a meta-analysis of randomised, controlled studies shows.

The drug's efficacy in male patients is unclear, researchers from the Mayo Clinic and Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota, United States add.

The investigators found that six large, multi-centred, placebo-controlled trials met the high-quality criteria set down for the meta-analysis. A total of 1,762 patients were randomised to receive alosetron therapy (1 milligram twice a day), and 1,356 patients received treatment with placebo. The participants were 93% female, and 75% experienced diarrhoea-predominate disease.

The results indicate that the pooled odds ratio for adequate relief of pain or global symptoms improvement was 1.81. Also, the average number of patients who needed to be treated for one patient to improve was seven. The researchers did report that one in four patients treated with alosetron could develop constipation, however.