A 2006 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that PPI users were three times more likely to develop C-diff infections compared to subjects who didn’t use medication.Īnd in the e-Alert “These Hips Don’t Lie” (1/16/07), I featured a study that linked PPI use to increased risk of hip fracture. So when drugs are used to neutralize or suppress gastric acid, the stage is set for C-diff to flourish. But gastric acid actually PROTECTS the stomach from C-diff. In the e-Alert “What’s the Diff?” (2/2/06), I told you about C-diff (Clostridium difficile), a bacterium that can trigger digestive inflammation and diarrhea so severe that some cases result in death. But then she adds: “It is beyond any doubt that subjects with reflux disease benefit from and need treatment with acid suppressive drugs.”įirst of all, PPI medications prompt dangerous side effects. That’s what the lead researcher of the Copenhagen study told HealthDay News.
When PPI drugs are prescribed too liberally to patients who may not actually need them, the drugs are “likely to create the disease the drugs are designed to treat.” Results: Nearly HALF of the Nexium subjects said they experienced heartburn and other similar symptoms over the final month of the study. Of course, they were unaware of the switch. The placebo was taken for 12 weeks, while the Nexium subjects received the drug for eight weeks, then were given the placebo for the remaining four weeks. The Copenhagen team divided 120 healthy people into two groups to receive either Nexium or a placebo. Spreen’s acid- suppression chain of events. Spreen: “So look what’s happening – the short term ‘fix’ assures that the problem will continue (and even worsen).”Īnd now, researchers at Copenhagen University have kindly conducted a study that illustrates Dr. The GE junction relaxes, allowing more acid to slip past and irritate the esophagus.ĭr. Spreen explains that the body reacts logically by saving the energy required to protect the esophagus from acid. And when the acid is neutralized or suppressed, the burning stops. Problems arise when acid goes where it shouldn’t go – that is, when it slips upwards, past the entrance to the stomach (the gastroesophageal junction) and irritates the esophagus. After all, you couldn’t digest food without it. In previous e-Alerts, HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., has noted that gastric acid is not your enemy. If you were a drug salesperson, imagine how successful you might be if the drug you were selling was very well known, backed up by massive advertising campaigns, had a reputation for effectiveness, and – frosting on the cake – tended to actually CAUSE the very symptoms your drug was supposed to treat.Īnd how much is a boatload? One out of every 20 people in the developed world is taking Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, or one of the other proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) that are supposed to curb heartburn.
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