Linaclotide to Treat IBS-C and CIC

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Statistics revealed by The National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that as many as 20% of Americans may experience irritable bowel syndrome, while meanwhile, approximately one-third of those, as many as 10 million Americans, experience constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C).

If you feel a sudden abdominal pain or notice symptoms like bloating, gas, diarrhea or constipation, you may have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but don’t worry. IBS is so common a phenomenon. Many people have these symptoms occasionally. Statistics revealed by The National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that as many as 20% of Americans may experience irritable bowel syndrome, while meanwhile, approximately one-third of those, as many as 10 million Americans, experience constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C).

By definition, IBS‑C is belly pain accompanied by constipation. The symptoms of IBS‑C are often long-lasting and coming back repeatedly. Those suffering from IBS‑C also have hard or lumpy stools at least 25% of the time, and loose or watery stools less than 25% of the time.

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The causes of IBS-C is not known exactly so far. The triggering factors are generally perceived as food, stress or hormone. As to treatment, there's no single, best approach to treating IBS-C, as admitted by doctors. Often, people use a mix of therapies to get relief. They can include changes in diet, exercise, stress management, and medication.

Linaclotide, an oligo-peptide agonist of guanylate cyclase 2C, was approved by the FDA in August 2012 and by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment in adults of constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome and chronic idiopathic constipation. It is marketed under the trade name Linzess in the US and Mexico, and as Constella in Canada and many other countries.

Of course, there are other drugs all together to treat IBS-C. For example, laxatives can assist with constipation but leave pain untreated, while opiates that are often prescribed to treat pain can aggravate constipation. While low-cost laxatives and pain killers would likely be tried first, linaclotide targets both associated conditions in a once-daily pill. With such a big advantage, linaclotide quickly gained favor from most doctors and patients.

As a matter of fact, linaclotide could also be used for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), which is even more common, affecting as many as 35 million adults in the U.S. "Chronic" means that the symptoms occur frequently over a long period of time (in most cases, more than 3 months) and "idiopathic" means the constipation arises from an unknown cause and can't be attributed to an underlying illness.

IBS‑C and CIC have quite a number of symptoms in common, including infrequent and difficult bowel movements, and hard and lumpy stools. However, there is a difference between them: patients suffering from IBS‑C also suffer from belly pain, except for the shared symptoms with CIC.

By  Alex Dean
This article is shared by BOC Sciences, whose strength lies in chemicals, APIs, metabolites of all kinds and chemical-related services like custom synthesis, antibody-drug conjugates, chiral synthesis, etc. Visit https://www.bocsci.com/ for more information.