FDA approves a 'first-of-its-kind' vibrating pill to relieve chronic constipation

Many people suffer from chronic constipation issues and it becomes painful for them to tackle it, especially if they do not wish to take any medicine. These difficulties can arise because of many reasons including bad food habits or some other clinical problem. However, in a major relief, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now cleared a pill, Vibrant, which may help ease chronic constipation and that too without the use of any medicine. How?

Before understanding how the pill works on our body and how the pill addresses constipation issues, it is important to know about Colonic Motility as dysfunction of this can lead to constipation and other colon-related issues.

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What is Colon and Colonic Motility Dysfunction?

The colon is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract which plays a crucial role in regulating the defecation process and maintaining the consistency of stools. However, in the case of Colonic Motility Dysfunction, bowel habits may sometimes alter which leads to constipation, diarrhoea or in certain cases, intermittent abdominal cramping.

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How does the therapy work?

The drug authority gave clearance to the pill, Vibrant, in the month of August 2022. However, the treatment was up until not available to doctors for a prescription. That hurdle is also now crossed this week. The pill's main function is to provide stimulation to colonic mobility which eventually leads to a smooth bowel movement.

Ben Feldman, Chief Marketing Officer of Vibrant Gastro, the company which manufactured the pill, told Health, “The pills stimulate specialized nerve cells in the gut called mechanosensory cells."

This therapy is even more welcomed in the United States as a total of 16 per cent of people in the country are believed to the affected by Chronic constipation. This pill mechanically stimulates the colon from the inside and does not contain any medicine.

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Feldman said that the pre-programmed timing of the mechanical stimulation is thought to "improve colonic motility by leveraging the body’s biological clock." Giving more details about the pill, the chief commercial officer for Vibrant Gastro,Cathy Collis,said that when the pill is in activation mode there are little vibrations for three seconds on, and three seconds off.

Once the stimulation part is done, the pill is automatically expelled from the body during the bowel movement. The technology in the pill helps one to track the capsule while it’s in your body.

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