Treatment of chronic constipation with lactulose syrup: results of a double-blind study.

Although correction of faulty bowel habits and a change in dietary regimen is helpful in many cases of constipation, there remains a group of patients who cannot easily accept the prescribed regimen, or in whom no desired effect is obtained. It is here that there is a need for effective bowel regulation without the use of drastic laxatives. Because prolonged treatment of what is essentially a harmless disease may be required, a bowel regulator must be carefully chosen. It should have a gentle effect, without any systemic action (presumably therefore not absorbed), no adverse effects such as cramps or salt depletion, and no contraindications, and it must be neither toxic nor habit forming.