Efficacy and Safety Study of Prucalopride for the Treatment of Elderly Patients With Chronic Constipation

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Male and female subjects of 65 or over 65 years of age. 2. History of constipation; the subject reports, on average, two or fewer spontaneous bowel movements per week that result in a feeling of complete evacuation and one or more of the following for at least 6 months before the selection visit: 1. very hard (little balls) and/or hard stools at least a quarter of the stools 2. sensation of incomplete evacuation following at least a quarter of the stools 3. straining at defecation at least a quarter of the stools. The above criteria are only applicable for spontaneous bowel movements, i.e., not preceded within a period of 24 hours by the intake of a laxative agent or by the use of an enema. Subjects who never have spontaneous bowel movements are considered to be constipated and are eligible for the trial. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Subjects in whom constipation is thought to be drug-induced, or subjects using any disallowed medication. 2. Subjects suffering from endocrine disorders, metabolic disorders or neurologic disorders. 3. Subjects with the main complaint of abdominal pain. 4. Subjects with a known megacolon/megarectum or a diagnosis of pseudo-obstruction. 5. Constipation as a result of surgery. 6. Known or suspected organic disorders of the large bowel, i.e. obstruction, carcinoma, or inflammatory bowel disease. 7. Malignancies or AIDS. 8. Known serious illnesses: clinically significant cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurological, psychiatric or metabolic disturbances. Patients with known diverticulosis may be included. 9. Subjects with a serum creatinine concentration \> 2 mg/dL (\> 180 micromol/L). 10. Subjects with clinically significant abnormalities of haematology, urinalysis, or blood chemistry.