A recent study published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology aimed to determine the effect of prucalopride a highly selective 5HT 4 agonist on gas transit and tolerance in women with functional bowel disorders complaining of constipation. This cross over study included 24 such women who were studied twice on separate days. These women were administered prucalopride 2 mg day or placebo for five days. Subsequently an intestinal gas challenge test was performed on two separate days. The findings of these tests revealed that prucalopride did not decrease the volume of gas retained in the subset of patients who had significant gas retention 8805 200 mL while on placebo. However in those patients who had increased symptoms during the gas test 8805 3 on a 0 to 6 scale when on placebo prucalopride did significantly reduce the perception of symptoms. Moreover during the treatment period with prucalopride patients exhibited an increase in the total number of bowel movements and decreased stool consistency compared with placebo. Hence it was inferred that prucalopride reduces abdominal symptoms without modifying gas retention when patients with functional bowel disorders are challenged with the gas transit and tolerance test.6 References 6. Malagelada C Nieto A Mendez S et al. Effect of prucalopride on intestinal gas tolerance in patients with functional bowel disorders and constipation. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017 32 8 1457 1462. doi 10.1111 jgh.13733.