[NEWS IN ETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS OF IRRITATED BOWEL SYNDROME].

The concept of irritated bowel syndrome as a complex of functional disorders that can not be explained by organic changes and are totally due to intestinal motility and visceral sensitivity needs revision. The development of this syndrome also depends on a number of pathogenetic and etiological factors, such as inflammation of intestinal mucosa, changes of its permeability, previous infection, altered microflora, gene polymorphism, and food hypersensitivity.

[Debatable aspects of diagnostics and differential diagnostics of irritated bowel syndrome].

Diagnostics and differential diagnostics of irritated bowel syndrome are currently governed by Rome III criteria that require that patients' complaints be correlated with these criteria and a minimal amount of laboratory and instrumental studies be conducted. However, such approach is fraught with errors bearing in mind the subjective character of complaints. It is therefore more reasonable to regard diagnosis of irritated bowel syndrome as exclusion diagnosis.

[Effectiveness of pharmacotherapy of irritated bowel syndrome from the standpoint of evidence based medicine].

Evaluation of the action of various medicines used to treat irritated bowel syndrome from the standpoint of evidence based medicine indicates that most of them (spasmolytics, probiotics, loperamide, aperients) show but low effectiveness. The use of more efficacious preparations (alosterone, cisapride, tegacerode) is associated with serious adverse reactions whereas prucalopride is applied for unregistered indications. It necessitates the development of new drugs with enhanced effectiveness and tolerability.

[On the possibility of using prokinetics in gastroenterology].

This review is concerned with the main classes of medicines stimulating the motor activity of the gastrointestinal tract widely used in clinical practice and studied in clinical trials (dopamine receptor blockers, 5-HT4- and 5-HT1-receptor antagonists, agonists of motilin receptors, antagonists of A type cholecystokinin and opioid receptors, etc.). The necessity of developing new generations of prokinetics is emphasized in order to improve efficiency and safety of therapy with these preparations.

[Quality of life in patients above 50 years with chronic hepatitis B].

The quality of life (QL) was assessed in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Both overall QL and its selected parameters were impaired in patients above 50 years. Also, QL deteriorated with duration of CHB.