Deeya Shah
Research Mentor: Benson Hang
Mentor Department: MM – Internal Medicine Gastroenterology, Medicine
Author(s): Not Available
Session: Session 6 (3:00 PM – 3:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 15
Abstract
Abdominal pain is one of the main symptoms that lowers quality of life for people with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). Many current treatments do not reduce this pain enough. Earlier research shows that electrical stimulation at certain acupressure points, called transcutaneous electrical acustimulation (TEA) may actually help to reduce pain and improve gut to brain signaling. This study tests whether a simple, home-based TEA device can improve pain and other IBS-C symptoms. In this study, adults with IBS-C first complete a 2-week baseline period. They are then assigned to one of three groups: TEA at ST36, TEA at ST36 plus PC6, or sham TEA. A fourth group takes escitalopram, an antidepressant sometimes used for IBS pain, to compare medical and electrical neuromodulation. TEA users complete two 45-minute sessions each day at home. All participants complete daily symptom surveys and return to the clinic for ECG recordings and blood tests before and after treatment (2 times total). The main outcome is how much abdominal pain improves from baseline to the end of treatment. Secondary outcomes include IBS symptom severity, quality of life, bowel habits, and measures of autonomic function. We expect that TEA will reduce abdominal pain more than sham treatment and may work as well as escitalopram. If successful, this study will support TEA as a safe, non-drug option for managing IBS-C pain for patients within the comfort of their own homes.
