Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, affects a significant number of patients and can be challenging to treat. How might antibiotic therapy benefit IBS patients, and how is antibiotic therapy a unique option for treating IBS? Should physicians empirically treat IBS patients with antibiotics? Joining us to debate these questions are Dr. William Chey, professor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, and Dr. Mark Pimentel, associate professor of medicine at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Mark DeLegge hosts.