• R Corinaldesi, V Stanghellini, C Cremon, L Gargano, R F Cogliandro, R De Giorgio, G Bartesaghi, B Canovi, and G Barbara.
• Department of Clinical Medicine and Center for Applied Biomedical Research, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
• Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 2009 Aug 1; 30 (3): 245-52.

BackgroundIntestinal immune infiltration contributes to symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).AimTo assesses the effect of mesalazine (mesalamine) on mucosal immune cells in patients with IBS, through a pilot study.MethodsA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 20 patients with IBS in tertiary care setting. Patients were randomized to receive placebo or 800 mg mesalazine three times daily for 8 weeks. The primary endpoint was a significant reduction in total colonic immune cells on biopsies obtained at the end of treatment compared to baseline. Secondary endpoints included effects on subsets of immune cells, inflammatory mediators and symptom severity. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed.ResultsMesalazine markedly reduced immune cells as compared with placebo (P = 0.0082); this effect was ascribed to a marked inhibition of mast cells (P = 0.0014). Mesalazine significantly increased general well-being (P = 0.038), but had no significant effects on abdominal pain (P = 0.084), bloating (P = 0.177) or bowel habits. No serious drug-related adverse events were reported during the study.ConclusionsMesalazine is an effective and safe approach to reduce mast cell infiltration and may improve general well-being in patients with IBS. These results support the hypothesis that immune mechanisms represent potential therapeutic targets in IBS.

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