[ad_1]
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the latest treatment to be approved in the fight against irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). According to a study published in the medical journal GUT, CBT is more effective at relieving the discomfort of irritable bowels than current conventional care.
Somewhere between 10 and 20% of the population is affected by IBS, persistent symptoms such as stomach pain or cramps, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. Flatulence, fatigue, nausea and incontinence are other unpleasant signs.
In the most severe cases, the disease can have a totally negative impact on a person's daily routine and quality of life. Yet it is a "functional disorder," which essentially means that no one really knows what is causing it. No pathological changes can be detected in the intestine or revealed by a medical test, so it is diagnosed by symptoms.
This does not mean that the symptoms themselves are not real or that the disease does not affect life. As one of the trial participants said, "I had to cancel events at the last minute … Wherever I was, I checked, subconsciously, where were the toilets the closer!" But according to the latest study, this suggests that IBS is (at least in part) of psychological origin.
Current medical advice includes lifestyle counseling (exercise and meditation), nutritional recommendations (try probiotics, avoid processed foods, limit caffeine and alcohol, etc.) and medications (Loperamide-based antidiarrheal tablets and tablets, for example). More experimental practices include feces grafts and helminth therapy (ie, you deliberately infect intestinal worms). However, according to the authors of the study, spoken therapy (CBT in particular) appears to be a more effective method of managing IBS symptoms than traditional care.
The study involved 558 patients with persistent symptoms of IBS who had tried other treatments for one year or more. While some continued to receive current standard IBS treatments, others were offered eight CBT sessions specifically designed for this treatment.
Twelve months later, the second group reported a significant improvement in their symptoms. In fact, based on the IBS-SSS measurement system (scale from 0 to 500), the symptoms were 61 points lower in the TCC group than in the control group after treatment. (Anything over 50 is considered significant.) While on a personal level, many participants expressed relief from the results of the trial.
"There is no other way to say it: this trial has changed my life," said Laura Day. "Everything revolved around my SCI, not by choice, but for fear of being touched by my symptoms. Now, at 31, I hardly think about it because I do not have symptoms 98% of the time. "
Impressively, CBT seems to work even if it is not performed face to face with a therapist.
"The fact that CBT telephone and Internet sessions have proven to be effective treatments is a very important and exciting discovery," said Hazel Everitt, badociate professor of general medicine at the University of Southampton, in a statement. communicated.
"Patients are able to follow these treatments at a time that suits them, without having to go to clinics."
The next steps will be to make the treatment more widely available (at least in the UK). Researchers are working with NHS therapists on pre-existing services to improve access to psychological therapies (IAPTs).
[ad_2]
Source link
