SOOTHING THE IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME Soothing the Irritable Bowel Syndrome

of patient presentations at gastrointestinal clinics, and up to 50% or more of patients presenting with abdominal symptoms have no organic abnormality detected. The most common functional gastrointestinal conditions in Canada are irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and functional dyspepsia or nonulcer dyspepsia (NUD). Other functional disorders may affect specific regions of the alimentary tract, such as the esophagus, the sphincters of the bile duct and the rectum. These conditions are ill understood and lack effective treatments (1,2). Epidemiological studies are infrequent, often unreliable and affected by cultural differences that affect the reporting of symptoms to physicians.