A new study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology assessed the long-term clinical response of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with reference to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) education. In this randomized trial, 436 Rome III-diagnosed IBS patients (80% F; mean age = 41 years) were assigned to either 4 session home-based CBT (minimal contact (MC-CBT)); 10 session clinic-based CBT (standard (S-CBT)) or 4 session IBS education (EDU). Follow-ups were conducted at 2 weeks and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months following treatment completion. Treatment response was based on the Clinical Global Improvement Scale (global IBS symptom improvement) and IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS). The findings revealed that post-treatment CGI gains were generally maintained by MC-CBT patients at quarterly intervals through 12-month follow-up, with negligible decay. For MC-CBT and S-CBT, 39 and 33% of respondents maintained treatment response at every follow-up assessment. Whereas, for the EDU group the proportion was 19%, which was significantly lower than that for the CBT groups. On the IBS-SSS, therapeutic gains also showed a pattern of maintenance with trends towards increased efficacy over time, in all conditions. Hence, it was concluded that for treatment-refractory IBS patients, home- and clinic-based CBT resulted in substantial and enduring relief of multiple IBS symptoms that generally extended up to 12-month post treatment.