Diverticular disease: a new therapeutic opportunity

Abstract

Diverticular disease is a common medical problem, mainly affecting older people. Different phenotypes have been described, including symptomatic diverticular disease, diverticulitis, symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD), and segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD).The management of diverticular disease consists of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs that should be used for very long times. However, side effects commonly occur. Therefore, a new multi-component food supplement (Divercol®) has been recently launched to be employed in these patients. This product contains seeds of Plantago psyllium, dry extract of Perilla frutescens, Citrus paradisi seeds dry extract, a mixture of tyndallized probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus, L reuteri, L acidophilus), and riboflavin. The recent experience evaluated its preventive and adjunctive activity in 388 patients with SUDD, symptomatic diverticular disease, and diverticular disease and treated with multiple antibiotic courses.Patients took a one-week antibiotic course, then a two-week Divercol® course (one stick/day). The assessed symptoms included: intestinal movement alteration, meteorism/flatulence, and abdominal pain. The visual analogue scale measured patients’ perception of symptoms. All patients perceived a significant (p<0.001 at all times) improvement of all measured parameters. In addition, the treatment was safely tolerated.In conclusion, the current clinical experience suggested that the multi-component product Divercol®may be an effective and safe adjunctive therapeutic option in managing patients with diverticular disease.