Syed M. Shah

In Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Mixed (IBS-M), a Novel Peppermint Oil Formulation Designed for Site Specific Targeting (PO-SST), in the Small Intestine, Improves the 8 Symptoms that Comprise the Total IBS Symptoms Score (TISS)

Among adult patients diagnosed with IBS, a sizable proportion suffer from a mixed bowel habit pattern.1,2 IBS-M sufferers experience a high burden, both in terms of symptoms and quality of life.3 There is no FDA approved therapy for IBS-M and it remains an unmet medical need. The enteric nervous system regulates gut motility and defecation and can promote a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms and bowel patterns when intestinal homeostasis is disturbed. In IBS, gut mucosal barrier dysfunction has been linked to altered absorption and mucosal inflammation. This provides a biologically plausible basis to test the efficacy of anti-inflammatory compounds targeted to the mucosa and submucosa in patients with IBS. Compounds with anti-inflammatory activity, such as the L-menthol component of peppermint oil (PO), may help restore homeostasis, resulting in IBS symptom improvement. PO-SST consists of ultra-purified, solid-state PO microspheres that are triple-coated to facilitate delivery to the small intestine. In view of the unmet need in IBS-M, an analysis was performed on the effects of PO-SST among patients with IBS-M in the IBSREST* trial. This trial had already shown favorable results in a combined group of IBS-D and IBS-M patients. Gut barrier dysfunction