WEDNESDAY, Oct. 3 (HealthDay News) -- After a four-week treatment period, the laxative polyethylene glycol (PEG) was found to be more effective in treating constipation than tegaserod, according to research published in the September issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Jack A. Di Palma, M.D., of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile, and colleagues randomized 237 patients with chronic constipation to treatment with PEG, which increases water content of stool, or tegaserod, a serotonin subtype 4-receptor partial agonist that increases peristalsis and intestinal secretion.
According to the researchers, 50 percent of the PEG subjects were successfully treated, compared to 30.8 percent of the tegaserod patients. The patients in the PEG group also had more bowel movements per week and more improvement in constipation symptoms; they also had significantly fewer headaches than the tegaserod subjects.
"Although not originally intended as a pharmacoeconomic study, an assessment of the pricing of these two products is prudent based on the safety and efficacy results reported here. The current retail price of a 30-day supply of tegaserod (Zelnorm 6 mg 60 tablets) is $193.98. Recently, PEG laxative was approved for 'over-the-counter' use. The retail price for an equivalent 30-day supply of PEG laxative is $25.69," the authors write.
The study was funded by Braintree Laboratories, which makes PEG laxative (MiraLax), and several authors are employed by or have been paid advisory group members to Braintree Laboratories.
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