Editor,—The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the commonest gastrointestinal disorder encountered by primary care physicians and a number of treatments, both pharmacological and psychological have been advocated. Individual and group psychotherapy, hypnotherapy and behaviour therapy have been shown to produce improvement. Pharmacological agents reported to be effective include antispasmodics, bulking agents, dopamine antagonists, carminatives, opioids, anticholinergics, and antidepressants.¹ Most patients respond …