Ulcer Drugs Found to Cause Diarrhea and Colitis

People who take widely used acid reflux drugs like Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium may be trading heartburn for another problem: a potentially dangerous diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile bacteria.

C-diff, as it's known, causes severe diarrhea and the intestinal inflammation, colitis.

C-Diff Cases on the Rise

Researchers from McGill University in Montreal studied more than 18,000 patients from 1994 to 2004. They found that the number of C-diff cases has been increasing, from less than one case per 100,000 people in 1994, to 22 per 100,000 in 2004.

What's more, the researchers found that patients taking prescription heartburn drugs had a much higher risk than those who did not. The drugs reduce levels of gastric acid that control C-diff bacteria. The study found:

•Patients taking proton pump inhibitors (Prilosec and Prevacid) were almost three times more likely to have a C-diff infection than non-users.
•Patients taking H2 receptor antagonists (Pepcid and Zantac) were twice as likely to have a C-diff infection.
Antibiotics and Hospitalization Also Risks

People who are hospitalized, and those on antibiotics, also have a higher risk of C-diff infection.

But while some blame the increasing number of C-diff infections on overuse of antibiotics, the new study points to overuse of acid-fighting drugs as another likely culprit.

Source:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/294/23/2989

MS Drug Continues to Cause Disastrous Side Effects

In the latest blow to the controversial multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered a new label be put on the drug, warning that the risk of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare but deadly brain infection, increases as more Tysabri infusions are received.

Natalizumab (Tysabri) first received FDA approval in November 2004, only to be pulled from the market three months later after several patients in clinical trials developed PML.

In June 2006, the FDA allowed the drug back on the market, but with strict conditions. According to those revised guidelines, Tysabri can only be administered by approved doctors at sites that register and comply with a patient-safety program.

The new action was based on reports of 31 confirmed cases of PML as of January 21, 2010.

Source:
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/635773.html

GERD Surgery May Not Prevent Esophageal Cancer

Patients who have surgery to treat severe gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as GERD, continue to have a high risk of developing cancer of the esophagus, according to a new study from the Karolinsa Institute in Stockholm. Esophageal cancers is one of the most ten common cancers in the United States.

GERD is a known risk factor for esophageal cancer. Acid from the stomach refluxes back up into the esophagus, causing heart burn and inflammation to the lining of the esophagus – a condition known as Barrett’s esophagus. While Barrett’s esophagus itself is not cancerous, it causes damage to the cells which can lead to cancer. It occurs in approximately 10% of patients with GERD.

Dr. Jesper Lagergren and colleagues studied over 14,000 Swedish patients who had anti-reflux surgery between the years 1965 and 2006. The most common surgical procedure for treating GERD is the Nissen fundoplication, which reinforces the lower esophageal sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach to prevent the reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus. The overall risk of developing esophageal cancer was 12 times that of the general Swedish population, and the risk did not decrease with time after the surgery, even up to 15 years.

Dr. Lagergren, professor of surgery at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said, "We expected a decreased risk of cancer with increased time after surgery, but we didn't find it. There is no evidence to support the idea that anti-reflux surgery prevents cancer development of the esophagus." The professor believes that the length of time patients had reflux prior to surgery and the severity of the illness contributed to the lack of decrease in cancer risk.

The American Institute for Cancer Research has found that cancer of the esophagus is one of the most preventable cancers in both men and women, with obesity, smoking, and alcohol being some of the greatest risk factors. About 16,740 new cases were diagnosed in the US in 2009.

Lifestyle changes that can treat GERD before damage occurs that leads to cancer include weight loss, smoking and alcohol cessation.


This article is a reprint of
http://www.emaxhealth.com/1506/51/35271/gerd-surgery-may-not-prevent-esophageal-cancer.html The time or date displayed reflects when an article was added to Google News Feb. 12, 2010