Novel therapies in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterised by abnormalities in motility, sensation and perception. It is one of the most common conditions encountered in clinical practice, especially by gastroenterologists. Pharmacological treatment of IBS is aimed at the predominant symptom and recent advances in pathophysiology has opened the door to the development of new compounds that target specific receptors. During this review, the most promising investigational and recently approved drugs will be discussed.