title: Existing and emerging therapies for irritable bowel syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Irritable bowel syndrome is a common disorder that is associated with a significant impact on both affected individuals and society. While the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome remains unknown, knowledge regarding the normal and abnormal functions of the gut and its complex interaction with the body's nervous systems continues to shed light on the multifactorial origins of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. This article provides an overview of the current knowledge of the therapeutic approaches to irritable bowel syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  A search of the online bibliographic databases MEDLINE and EMBASE was performed in order to identify all relevant articles published between 1980 and 2010. The search was enhanced with the use of a medical librarian. Bibliographies from potentially relevant articles were manually searched.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The therapeutic options for irritable bowel syndrome are rapidly evolving beyond traditional symptom-based therapies, such as fiber, antispasmodics, antidiarrheals and laxatives, and are moving toward agents with organ-specific receptor selectivity directed, in many cases, at specific gastrointestinal functions.
authors: National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Division of Gastroenterology, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889-5000, USA.
authors: Ruben D
authors: RD
authors: Acosta
authors: Brooks D
authors: BD
authors: Cash
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents