Digestive Health Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS With Constipation Prucalopride for Chronic Constipation By Barbara Bolen, PhD twitter Barbara Bolen, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and health coach. She has written multiple books focused on living with irritable bowel syndrome. Learn about our editorial process Barbara Bolen, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Emmy Ludwig, MD on May 24, 2016 Emmy Ludwig, MD, is board-certified in gastroenterology and hepatology. She is an associate attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. Learn about our Medical Review Board Emmy Ludwig, MD Updated on January 16, 2020 Print Constipation Overview Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment Nutrition Woman with irritable bowel syndrome. Credit: Credit: Peter Dazeley Prucalopride is a medication designed to treat chronic constipation - a health problem characterized by infrequent and difficult passage of stools over a prolonged period, along with a range of other distressing symptoms such as abdominal bloating, flatulence, and even vomiting. Traditional treatment options for chronic constipation involve mostly diet and lifestyle changes and/or laxatives. Prucalopride is available in Europe and the USA, under the name brand name "Resolor" and in USA as "Motegrity". The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the use of prucalopride (Resolor) only for the treatment of chronic constipation in adults who have not responded to the use of laxatives. The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription. How Does Prucalopride Work? Prucalopride is characterized as a 5-HT4 agonist. This means that it activates the 5-HT4 receptors for the neurotransmitter serotonin. This activation is thought to increase the motility of the intestinal system by increasing peristalsis, or the muscle movements of the intestines that propel stool out of the body, making stools easier to pass and resulting in more frequent bowel movements. Prucalopride is of the same class of medications as Zelnorm. However, prucalopride has been designed to have a different action on the body so as to reduce the likelihood of the rare but serious cardiovascular symptoms that resulted in Zelnorm being pulled off of the market. How Effective Is Prucalopride at Treating Chronic Constipation? In clinical trials to date, prucalopride has been shown to be superior to placebo in the following areas: Increasing the frequency of spontaneous and complete bowel movements.Improving patient perception of quality of life.Resulting in patient perception that constipation is less of a problem. Read more about Chronic Idiopathic Constipation What Are the Side Effects of Prucalopride? In studies to date, the following side effects have been experienced: DiarrheaHeadacheNausea Who Shouldn't Take Prucalopide? Certain people are at higher risk for developing dangerous side effects or complications from taking prucalopride. These include people: Known hypersensitivity to the drug or any of its ingredientsIntestinal perforation or obstructionObstructive ileusCrohn's disease or ulcerative colitisSevere and clinically unstable concomitant diseases, in particular arrhythmias or ischaemic cardiovascular disease. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! One of the most challenging aspects of having IBS is trying to figure out what's safe to eat. Our recipe guide makes it easier. Sign up and get yours now! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Omer A, Quigley EMM. An update on prucalopride in the treatment of chronic constipation. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2017;10(11):877-887. doi:10.1177/1756283X17734809 European Medicines Agency. Resolor. Food and Drug Administration. Zelnorm. Ford AC, Suares NC. Effect of laxatives and pharmacological therapies in chronic idiopathic constipation: systematic review and meta-analysis. Gut. 2011;60(2):209-18. doi:10.1136/gut.2010.227132. Quigley EM. Prucalopride: safety, efficacy and potential applications. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2012;5(1):23-30. doi:10.1177/1756283X11423706 Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Motegrity. Additional Reading Ford AC, Moayyedi P, Lacy BE, et al. American College of Gastroenterology monograph on the management of irritable bowel syndrome and chronic idiopathic constipation. Am J Gastroenterol. 2014;109 Suppl 1:S2-26. doi:10.1038/ajg.2014.187.