New Drug for Travelers' Diarrhea Tested

Researchers at The University of Texas-Houston Medical School recently announced at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America that a new drug may be the most potent antidiarrheal agent tested so far.

SP-303 (Provir'), made from the sap of the Croton tree, blocks intestinal tract secretion (fluid) loss that often occurs during diarrhea. Researchers say SP-303 also reduces the time it takes for the treatment to control the diarrhea.

"Traditional antidiarrheal medications called antimotility drugs reduce the normal movement of the intestine. This can cause undesired side effects including post-treatment constipation," says Dr. Herbert DuPont, the Mary Kelsey Professor at The UT-Houston Medical School. "Antimotility treatments can also increase the contact time between invasive bacterial pathogens and the lining of the intestinal tract."

Over the two-day treatment period, 90 percent of the patients taking a dose of 250 mg of SP-303 four times a day showed partial or complete improvement within the first 24 hours.

- From The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center

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Courtesy of Texas Medical Center News

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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