People who struggle with chronic constipation have a new drug-free option to help get things moving again.
It’s a first-of-its-kind capsule about is the size of a regular pill – but instead of releasing medication after it’s swallowed, it vibrates to stimulate the colon.
The capsules, called Vibrant, was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in August but just became available for doctors to prescribe this week.
20220324-Morning joe-Morning runs-v2
Why does coffee make you poop? Experts explain
Doctors consider a person to be constipated when they’re having fewer than three bowel movements in a week. Between 10% to 20% of Americans live with persistent constipation that doesn’t have a discernible cause, according to a recent survey. They tend to have hard, dry stools that may cause pain and bloating.
The idea behind the treatment is that a single vibrant pill is taken around bedtime every day. It then travels the same route as food does, through the stomach and small intestine, finally reaching the large intestine about 14 hours later. Then, it goes to work.
The pills stimulate specialized nerve cells in the gut called mechanosensory cells. These help trigger peristalsis, the undulating muscle contractions that help squeeze food through the gut.
“There are little vibrations for three seconds on, three seconds off,” said Cathy Collis, chief commercial officer for Vibrant Gastro, which is based in Israel but has offices in the US.
Before use, each pill is activated in a little pod that turns it on. After it’s swallowed, it is active for about two hours, goes quiet for around six hours and then activates again for another two hours.
Finally, after they’ve done their job, the person’s body poops them out, and they’re flushed away.
Source: cnn.com
