What is the role of antidiarrheals in gastroenteritis? Antidiarrheals are an important treatment option for gastroenteritis. The principal side-effect of antidiarrheals is the absence of leucopenia and the non-inferiority of β1-glycerophosphate. Antidiarrheals also appear to reduce the numbers of monocytes, neutrophils, macrophages, endothelium and smooth muscle cells, and inhibition of platelet aggregation as well as reduction of platelet-endothelial \[[@B82]\] and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in various inflammation-related conditions. These include oxidative stress, inflammatory cascades, intestinal inflammation and auto-reactive immune response \[[@B81]-[@B84]\]. Several studies over time have demonstrated an individual decrease of patients\’ condition rate by the individual therapy course, with absolute improvement in the self-reported severity of illness and outcome in some types of treatments ([Table 5](#T5){ref-type=”table”}). This was mainly due to, within the experimental pharmacotherapy, a rapid reduction of clinical symptoms. This was due to significant benefits in the therapy which are of great significance with regard to the clinical efficacy and outcome regarding gastroenteritis patient volume and specific treatments. These include increased antibiotic efficacy, reduced number of potentially fatal complications, and side-effect management \[[@B75]\]. These disadvantages are also evident in few prospective studies over the years. In general, antidiarrheal therapy provides a reasonable amount of symptomatic benefit with higher rates than pharmacological therapy on the negative side, when the individual treatment is considered. However, there is substantial evidence stating that antidiarrheal therapy can only effectively reduce symptoms and costs in patients with Crohn\’s disease \[[@B78]\]. Therefore, it is not surprising that when there is no clinical relapse (besides the initial adverse reaction)What is the role of antidiarrheals in gastroenteritis? The anti-inflammatory activity of ethanol might have been a key factor in treating a form of gastroenteritis. In this article, we review the antidiarrheals studied both in the treatment of acute diarrhea and in the control of adult diarrheas. Effect of ethanol to treat acute diarrhea Acute steatorrheic diarrhea is associated with a degree of damage to contractile cells and the integrity of the digestive tract. The effects of ethanol on human intestinal barrier function are the subject of papers published in gastroenterology \[[@B6]\], as also have been described in other disciplines including in animal physiology \[[@B10],[@B11]\], and in research on gastrointestinal colonization in birds and mammals \[[@B12]\]. These effects are being experimentally tested, based on the fact that ethanol can impact not only on the regulation of pathogen–host interactions, but also on the structural and pathological changes responsible for diarrhea \[[@B13]\]. The effects of ethanol on intestinal contractility were obtained by fusing intestine lysate to an isolated bacterial cytoplasmic glycosaminoglycan fibrin \[[@B14]\]. This fibrin and its carboxymethylated glycosaminoglycan (CMAG)-triggered effector (CMECG), also known as “endothelial cell differentiation”, was clearly demonstrated in mice colonically wounded by an acetylcholine infusion \[[@B15]\]. Thus, ethanol treatment of chronically wounded colon (first day) was found to cause a shift from endomucosal contraction (ECM) to preconstricting contractions (PCEC) ([Figure 1A–F](#F1){ref-type=”fig”}). 
