Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 10:00 a.m
Eschborn – Even if the knowledge for the three experienced irritable bowel doctors PD Dr. med. Viola Andresen, Hamburg, Prof. Dr. med. Johann Ockenga, Bremen and Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Stengel, Tübingen, was not new, but it was once again clear: “Unfortunately, many irritable bowel syndrome patients too often feel neither understood nor taken seriously by us therapists,” was the conclusion after a virtual event on October 18, 2023. More More than 300 IBS patients seeking advice use this interactive offer from the German Irritable Bowel Self-Help (RDSH) e. V. to discuss their personal concerns and needs with the three doctors live as part of the Zoom event. One of the most common problems faced by irritable bowel syndrome patients was finding an experienced, understanding doctor who would give them the attention they needed – because irritable bowel syndrome patients often require very time-consuming advice and care. But it is precisely the elementary “time factor” that is lacking in many practices. In particular, therapists can hardly deal satisfactorily with the many questions that patients ask after the initial diagnosis: “Who will help me now, what do I need, what can I eat, what else can I do myself?” In the future, therapists can act as time-saving “ adjuvant final recommendation” of the patient consultation points to the new online advice area that provides the right answers: the irritable bowel compass. Interested practices can request the “RDS compass tear-off pad” for personal delivery to patients from [email protected].
Another much-discussed topic in the virtual consultation was the question of “the best possible treatment results”. The patients were interested in the following core information from the three IBS doctors: Different therapeutic approaches are often combined – and this includes medicines, dietary rules, exercise and measures to manage stress such as body-mind medicine. The selection of therapeutic agents is based – in accordance with guidelines – a priori on the dominant symptoms.
Therapeutic primary target: Address symptoms individually
This drug therapy is an important pillar of successful multimodal treatment concepts. The primary goal is significant and sustainable symptom relief up to (temporary) freedom from symptoms – specifically focused on the individual case. Those affected all have a unique and complex set of symptoms for which there are neither generally established causal triggers nor a standardized treatment, let alone a gold standard – so the credo applies: “Only individually tailored irritable bowel syndrome therapies are successful.” For patients with multiple complaints Combination medicines that can simultaneously relieve various symptoms have proven successful – such as herbal medicines with myrrh*, which can be used against diarrhea, intestinal spasms and flatulence. In the case of spasms, rubbing with caraway oil or applying warm, moist body pads with caraway or lemon balm oil can also be helpful. Mucilages such as psyllium and wheat bran are used for diarrhea or constipation. Antispasmodics, which relax the intestinal muscles, are also suitable for pain.
Patient interest in examining the intestinal barrier
The participants also asked about new diagnostic options and the relevance of “leaky gut syndrome” in irritable bowel syndrome. The doctors then reported on a relatively new examination method, “confocal laser endomicroscopy” (KLE). This allows the function of the intestinal barrier to be assessed. A weakened intestinal barrier and thus increased permeability of the intestinal tract (banal: “leaky gut”) is now being discussed as a possible cause of irritable bowel syndrome. Due to this growing importance, German research institutions are also expanding [1] There has been continuous research into the intestinal barrier for many years – in 2023 alone, scientists from the following institutes, among others, published current studies in which the intestinal barrier was examined: University Medicine of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg, Kaiserslautern University, Leibniz -Institute for Aging Research – Fritz Lipmann Institute e. V. Myrrh and coffee charcoal were also found to have intestinal stabilizing properties [2,3] Effects have already been proven in studies at the Charité Berlin and the University of Leipzig. The sealing effect on the “leaky gut” occurs primarily by stabilizing the tight junctions in the intestinal mucosa, which are responsible for the controlled transport of substances into the body. This special mode of action has not yet been demonstrated for any other medicinal plants.
Editorial note: gender-neutral wording
Gender-specific spelling is not used in this press release solely for better readability. All personal formulations in this text should therefore be interpreted in a gender-neutral manner.
Literature available from press contact.
*MYRRHINIL-INTEST® – www.myrrhinil.de
Application areas: Traditional herbal medicine for the supportive treatment of gastrointestinal disorders with non-specific diarrhea, accompanied by mild cramps and flatulence solely due to long-term use. Composition: 1 coated tablet contains: 100 mg myrrh, 50 mg coffee charcoal, 70 mg dry extract of chamomile flowers (4-6:1); Extractant: Ethanol 60% (m/m). Other ingredients: Yellow wax, calcium carbonate, carnauba wax, cellulose powder, iron oxides and hydroxides E 172, iron (III) oxide E 172, spray-dried glucose syrup, cocoa butter, macrogol 6000, povidone K-90, shellac (bleached, wax-free), highly disperse silicon dioxide, stearic acid (Ph.Eur.) [pflanzlich]sucrose, talc, titanium dioxide E 171. Contains glucose and sucrose (sugar). Contraindications: Hypersensitivity to chamomile, other composite plants, myrrh, coffee charcoal or any of the other ingredients. Children under 6 years. Side effects: Frequency not known: Hypersensitivity reactions, especially in allergy sufferers. Pharmaceutical entrepreneur: Repha GmbH Biological Medicines, Alt-Godshorn 87, 30855 Langenhagen. As of 08/20.