Medslant Acid Reflux Newsletter

New Acid Reflux Drug

TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. filed a new drug application with the FDA for TAK-390MR, a compound whose novel delivery system may be a next step in the treatment of acid related diseases, and maintenance for patients with erosive esophagitis and non-erosive reflux disease.

TAP, located in Lake Forest, IL is a joint venture between Abbott and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co of Japan. TAP manufactures Prevacid.

TAK-390MR is the first proton pump inhibitor with an innovative dual delayed release technology which provides two separate releases of the drug for extended duration of acid suppression. One fourth of the active ingredients are released immediately to help stop reflux symptoms, and the remaining three fourths of the active ingredients are released several hours later to allow for esophageal healing.

At the May 17-22, 2008, annual meeting of Digestive Disease Week in San Diego, TAP reported results from three studies. Data was positive showing that patients treated with 60 and 90 mg experienced higher overall healing after eight weeks than patients taking lansoprazole (Prevacid) 30 mg. Heartburn relief rates were also improved for patients treated with TAK-390MR.

If you take proton pump inhibitors, you may want to check with your physician or health care professional to see if this drug may be helpful for you after it becomes FDA approved.

Don't Lose Sleep

Even one night of sleep deprivation makes the brain unstable and prone to shutdowns ' think power failure ' i.e. brief lapses that flit between wakefulness and sleep. This is according to study results reported in the May, 2008, Journal of Neuroscience by David F. Dinges, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Johns Hopkins Advice on Treating GERD

Johns Hopkins Health Alerts recently published a review of the new GERD guidelines for effective acid reflux treatment.

The four types of treatment for GERD are:

* Lifestyle Changes * Medication * Surgery * Endoscopic Procedures

Most physicians recommend lifestyle changes as the first treatment for reflux. After evaluating more than 100 studies on various lifestyle measures for GERD, the most important recommended change is elevating your entire torso on an even plane so that your esophagus is higher than your stomach, thus using gravity to keep acid down. The second most recommended change is weight loss. The consensus was that only these two changes showed a clear benefit in GERD management; other changes such as diet modification, and finding your trigger foods and avoiding them did not show the same effectiveness for symptom relief. Click here to read our list of recommended lifestyle changes.

GERD Home Remedies

Mayo Clinic suggests caution when using some GERD home remedies as they provide only temporary relief and can cause problems. One common home remedy is drinking baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) added to water or drinking other fluids such as baking soda mixed with cream of tartar and water. These liquids may create temporary relief by neutralizing or washing away or buffering acids but eventually they can aggravate reflux by adding gas and fluid to your stomach, thus increasing pressure and causing more reflux. Also, adding sodium to your diet can increase blood pressure and excessive bicarbonate ingestion can alter the acid balance in your body.

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