NeurAxis, Inc. announced the results of a retrospective comparative study of adolescent patients with functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) treated with IB-Stim? therapy or standard of care medications, amitriptyline (tricyclic antidepressant) or cyproheptadine (antihistamine). Led by the Cincinnati Children?s Hospital Medical Center, the comparative study concluded that IB-Stim?

may be a good non-pharmacologic alternative for FAPD. The publication, Percutaneous electrical nerve field stimulation compared to standard medical therapy in adolescents with functional abdominal pain disorders, featured in the September 19th 2023 Frontiers in Pain Research, reviewed records of 101 adolescents treated with 4 weeks of IB-Stim?, amitriptyline or cyproheptadine. In the study, 59% of patients in the IB-Stim group had failed prior standard medical therapy.

Evaluated outcome measures included validated pediatric questionnaires using Abdominal Pain Index (API), Nausea Severity Scale (NSS) and Functional Disability Inventory (FDI) at baseline and at 3-month follow up. The comparative analysis noted that: at follow up, IB-Stim? therapy showed improvements in abdominal pain (p=0.001) and functional disability (p=0.048) compared to baseline, while amitriptyline showed improvements in abdominal pain (p=0.034); in a comparison of outcomes between groups, IB-Stim?

was more effective than cyproheptadine in improving abdominal pain (p=0.04) and did not differ from amitriptyline (p=0.64). Nausea scores did not differ between groups (p>0.05); and disability scores between groups were only more effective for amitriptyline vs. cyproheptadine (p=0.03).

Disability scores did not differ from amitriptyline compared with IB-Stim? (p=0.21).