BACKGROUND Functional gastrointestinal disorders are common, accounting for up to 50% of gastroenterology referrals, and several randomized controlled trials have evaluated antidepressant therapy for their treatment. METHODS We performed a meta-analysis of published, English-language, randomized clinical trials on the use of antidepressants for the treatment of patients with functional gastro...

Correspondence to: Professor R E Clouse, Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Ave, Campus Box 8124, St Louis, MO 63110, USA; [email protected] _________________________ INTRODUCTION In 1990 we asked clinicians attending a symposium during the annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association how many were using psychopharmacolo...

As a group, functional gastrointestinal disorders are the most common gastrointestinal disorder seen by both generalists and specialists. These disorders can be frustrating to both patients and physicians as they are usually chronic in nature and difficult to treat. These disorders are associated with frequent healthcare visits, the scheduling of multiple, expensive diagnostic tests, and the us...

This article is also accessible online at: http://BioMedNet.com/karger A novel approach to the clinical management of disease requires bold new initiatives that are not always in the mainstream of current dogma. The brilliant elucidation of the pathophysiology of peptic ulcer disease opened our minds to new ideas. The impact of the bacterial etiology of ulcer disease changed all of gastroentero...