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CBT-Based Digital Program Helped Reduce IBS Symptoms

— Asma Khapra, MD, says there is a growing desire for holistic alternative therapies

by Greg Laub, Director, Video, ľֱ

MedpageToday

A prescription-only digital therapeutic that teaches cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills reduces the severity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms in adults, according to data presented at the recent Digestive Disease Week annual meeting.

In this exclusive ľֱ video, , of Gastro Health in Chantilly, Virginia, discusses her recent experience treating IBS patients with this digital program.

Following is a transcript of her remarks:

I treat a lot of patients with IBS. And I have found over the years that patients, and particularly my female patients, have a desire to approach IBS in a holistic manner. And so I've always been a firm believer in cognitive behavioral therapy to augment treatment in IBS.

Currently, it's estimated that about 35 million people are diagnosed with IBS in the United States, so it's a very high burden of disease. The Mahana IBS demonstrated effectiveness in a clinical trial with over 500 patients with IBS, and 63% of the patients using the program had significant clinical improvement in their IBS symptoms.

And a lot of other studies in general have actually shown that CBT can really be a beneficial adjunct to IBS treatment. And it's also been shown actually that it can reduce the downstream costs of IBS as well.

So, I think that there's many reasons for people to use cognitive behavioral therapy. I also think that, particularly nowadays, there is a big trend to kind of more holistic treatments in general. People tend to want less medication. They want to look for other alternatives. And there are few that are very validated, and cognitive behavioral therapy is actually one of them.

To me, in my personal practice, it's helpful to say this is an FDA-approved therapy, so people feel like there is some validation behind what they're doing.

I have been using the cognitive behavioral therapy app for about a month or so now, and I have prescribed it to at least over a dozen patients, and it's very easy to use, it's not a ton of time commitment, and it's super accessible.

  • author['full_name']

    Greg Laub is the Senior Director of Video and currently leads the video and podcast production teams.