Annual Report 2006 - Boehringer Ingelheim

“Now I know how to keep
them under control”
“When I moved from my home town of Pico in La Pampa to study communication science at the
University of Buenos Aires in the Argentinian capital, I found the change very hard. Pressure from
exams made things even worse,” Mara Lovera, a 25-year-old student, explains. “Every time I had to
take a test I experienced strong discomfort and abdominal pain, which on some occasions forced
me to skip exams.”
Abdominal pain and cramps, a widespread ailment around the world, is more common in women
than in men and can affect people still in their teens. The ailment can strike sufferers at any time and
is one of the most common causes of absence from work. It can also have significant impact on self-
confidence, social life and day-to-day living.
“As the discomfort and pain was constantly disrupting my studies, I went my doctor to find out what
could be done to help me. He explained that what I had were spasms produced by stress and nerves,”
Mara says. The doctor recommended an antispasmodic which suppresses and relieves painful muscle
spasms.
“Since the moment I started taking the medication my problem was solved,” Mara says. “Nowadays,
the pain is not so frequent, but every time my stomach starts to hurt, I know how to treat it and keep
the spasms under control.”
New data presented at the international gastroenterology congress, the Digestive Disease Week,
Los Angeles, in 2006, showed that the prevalence and severity of abdominal cramping, pain and
discomfort have been globally underestimated. A global epidemiological study showed that one in
four people around the world suffer from this troublesome and sometimes debilitating ailment.
Two- thirds of all sufferers indicated they experience sudden abdominal attacks that begin without
warning. On average, more than one-third of these sufferers experience at least one fierce attack
every week.
Professor Guido N. J. Tytgat, from the Academisch Medisch Centrum of the University of Amsterdam,
comments: “This ailment is classified as a functional gastrointestinal disorder, which means that the
abdomen appears normal, but does not function properly. Despite the painful symptoms associated
with this ailment, proactive management and treatment can significantly improve a sufferer’s quality
of life.”