antacids and acid-reducing drugs known as
H2 blockers -- such as ranitidine (Zantac) and cimetidine (Tagamet). Another class of drugs, known as proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), can be prescribed to help prevent acid reflux episodes, particularly in people with more -severe GERD. The current study, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology, was partly funded by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, which makes the PPI medication Prevacid. Fass serves as a consultant and researcher for the company.
The
an acid-reflux episode.
In
the healthy comparison group,
percent
woke up at least once, but never in relation to acid reflux.
Fass and his colleagues also found that in GERD patients, the reflux episodes usually came not before, but after they woke up. If the acid reflux usually happened after, and most awakenings were not accompanied by heartburn symptoms, it is not clear why tended to wake up more
39 GERD
78
the researchers.
GERD patients often, according to
findings are based on
middle -aged adults with
who had been having at least three heartburn episodes per week for the previous three months, along with nine healthy adults.
“Study shows that adults with
GERD wake up on an average of three times per night
All
participants
overnight
sleep
underwent monitoring,
versus those who are
where a device worn on the wrist recorded their movements and a probe placed
One possibility, they say, is that nervous-system activity that helps
stimulate
acid
reflux
actually rouses people from sleep before the reflux occurs.
Why
these episodes would so
often be symptom-free is also unclear, but one theory is that
sleep reduces the sensitivity of the esophagus to stomach acid.
in the esophagus measured instances of acid reflux.
Those
on
H2
blockers stopped using
However, Fass
and
his
colleagues
note,
the medications at least three days prior to
some past studies have found that the large
entering the study, and any PPI use was stopped
majority of acid reflux episodes seen in GERD,
at least three weeks beforehand.
Overall, the study found, 90 percent of GERD patients woke up at least once during overnight monitoring, with the majority of the awakenings (52 percent) being associated with
regardless of the time of day, may actually not trigger clear symptoms.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/reb53m Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology, online May 31, 2010.
Health - W3 LIFESTYLE 21