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Review article: the safety and efficacy of alosetron, a 5‐HT 3 receptor antagonist, in female irritable bowel syndrome patients
Author(s) -
Mangel A.W.,
Northcutt A.R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2036.1999.00010.x
Subject(s) - medicine , irritable bowel syndrome , constipation , adverse effect , gastroenterology , antagonist , receptor antagonist , abdominal pain , receptor
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal‐related conditions. In this review, the safety and efficacy of alosetron, a potent and selective 5‐HT 3 receptor antagonist, in the treatment of IBS are discussed. Alosetron has been shown to produce statistically significant improvements in abdominal pain, stool consistency, stool frequency and urgency in female IBS patients. By contrast, no consistent improvement has been seen in male IBS patients treated with alosetron. The only adverse event of note with alosetron was constipation, and this represents a class effect of 5‐HT 3 receptor antagonists. In conclusion, alosetron is a safe and effective treatment for female IBS patients.