Antibiotic May Soothe Irritable Bowel

An antibiotic may help some people with irritable bowel syndrome, new research finds. Researchers did two studies with the same design. They included a total of 1,260 people. Everyone had mild to moderate irritable bowel syndrome. They did not have constipation. This is the most common form of the disease. People were randomly divided into two groups. One group took rifaximin (Xifaxan) for two weeks. The other group took placebo (fake) pills. Unlike most antibiotics, rifaximin does not enter the bloodstream. It stays in the gut. About 41% of those on rifaximin had “adequate relief” of symptoms. This compares with 32% of those on placebo. Relief lasted for the 10 weeks that researchers kept track of them. The New England Journal of Medicine published the research. The Associated Press wrote about it January 6.