They create a vibrating pill to help you defecate

Instead of taking laxatives, you may soon find yourself swallowing a drug-free smart capsule that makes your intestines vibrate to solve your constipation problems. Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University have published a new study that says a vibrating capsule “doubles the ability of adults struggling with chronic debilitating constipation to have more normal bowel movements.” The news comes just days after another group of researchers discovered a strip you can pee on to potentially detect cancer.

The capsule excites the muscular walls, which leads to a gradual contraction of the colon, which creates a movement similar to peristalsis, churning the contents inside and allowing defecation. For those of you who don’t know, peristalsis refers to the contraction and relaxation of the muscular walls in the tube, which allows edible items to pass through the feeding tube and digested material through the intestines.

The appropriately named Vibrant capsule was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year and is marketed as an alternative to laxatives. The capsule that comes with the capsule only takes a few seconds to activate by placing it inside the capsule before swallowing. After the job is done, the capsule leaves the body in the feces. The latest study also marks the first time that Vibrant has become “available to physicians by prescription.”

The latest study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, involved more than 300 adults at nearly 90 centers across the country. The capsule, made of latex-free plastic, produces two vibration sessions each day, with each vibration session lasting two hours in the colon, where 3 seconds of mild arousal is followed by 16 seconds of rest.

During clinical trials, the team compared the effectiveness of the vibrating capsule with the non-vibrating capsule and found that the vibrating capsule allowed “two to three times the number of complete spontaneous bowel movements per week” in patients with constipation. .

Not only did this improve stool frequency, but it also improved the integrity of the bowel movement and even helped with strain and stool consistency issues. The only side effect reported during the last trial was that about 11% percent of the participants reported feeling a slight vibration in their gut but continued to use it.

Another advantage is that it does not kill the healthy gut microbiome, as is the case with many medications. So far, the team has also not found any negative effect of Vibrant capsules on the activity of intestinal microbes. Vibrant is currently available in a paid format that costs between $2 and $3 per day.

Touted as the first capsule-based trial of its kind for any gastrointestinal problem, the study also notes that for the first time, experts have been able to initiate treatment directly at the target site, which in this case is the colon. .

Notably, the capsule can also be adapted to patients suffering from various types of constipation, allowing the gastroenterologist to adjust the timing and duration of the vibration therapy. However, the most promising aspect of the research is that the capsule could also be adapted to address other gastrointestinal issues.

For example, if a person suffers from paralysis of the stomach, the vibrating capsule can be activated much earlier in the stomach, stimulating its walls. Similarly, it can also be implemented to correct bowel related problems in the small intestine.

One of the biggest benefits of the FDA-approved vibrating capsule is that it is drug-free, which means there is no risk of a chemical reaction or rejection by the body. Clinical trials show that Vibrant is “effective for severe, moderate and mild patients.”