Medslant Acid Reflux Newsletter

New Sleep Study & night time heartburn

A clinical trial sponsored by TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. to determine the effectiveness of Dexlansoprazole in treating patients with night heartburn is currently recruiting in many states throughout the US. This is the drug I told you about in last month's newsletter ' it is a proton pump inhibitor with a dual release technology. The drug's name is TAK-390MR, and the clinical trial identifier is NCT00627016. If you think this may benefit you, discuss it with your doctor or health care professional. For a list of the US cities recruiting for the study, go to www.clinicaltrial.gov. If you have problems with the link, go to www.clinicaltrial.gov, click on search for clinical trials, select the advanced search tab, enter NCT00627016 in the search terms box, select search, click on study, then three fourths of the way down the page select show study locations.

* * * Summer Special * * *

Purchase either MedSlant pillow between now and July 18, 2008, enter coupon code 'summer', click apply coupon, and $10 will be deducted from the cost of the pillow. Please share this coupon with family, friends, and co-workers. GERD Breakthrough

The May 2008, Science Daily reports that 40% of patients who daily use doctor recommended proton pup inhibitors to control GERD, experience breakthrough, a return of GERD symptoms. And, more than 50% of these patients are supplementing their prescription with OTC treatments, usually antacids. According to a survey conducted by the American Gastroenterological Association, almost half of these patients are not discussing their OTC meds with their doctors. BAD IDEA. If you are experiencing breakthrough symptoms while taking prescribed proton pump inhibitors, discuss it with your prescribing physician; he or she can evaluate you and your meds to see if changes in your GERD treatment can help.

Sleep -- Why Do We Need It?

A June 12, 2008, Sixty Minutes segment with correspondent Lesley Stahl, focused on sleep. Although we all know we need it, what really happens inside our bodies and our brains during sleep has long been an unanswered question. But researchers are beginning to come up with some startling answers. Matthew Walker, Director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, says that sleep is critical. Studies as far back as the 1980s followed rats that were kept awake indefinitely. After just five days, the rats starting dying. Walker claims that sleep is as essential as food.

A new National Institute of Health funded study at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine found that lack of sleep causes a cumulative impairment that develops in the ability to think fast, react quickly, and remember. And says David Dinges, the scientist in charge of the study, just one night of four or five hours of sleep affects your ability to function.

A researcher at the University Of Chicago School Of Medicine, Eve Van Cauter, studies the effect of sleep on the body. Healthy, young volunteers are paid to come one at a time and have every system in their bodies monitored while their sleep is interrupted. A study restricting sleep to four hours a night for six nights found that participants were already in a pre-diabetic state. And they were also hungry even though they had eaten and had plenty of food. This study and several other large scale studies have reported a link between short sleep times and obesity. According to Van Cauter, 'sleep deprivation is not a challenge for which biology has wired us'. There is research that shows that a lack of sleep may contribute to adult onset diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. Essentially, the conclusion is that we need to rethink the essentials for good health, i.e. diet and exercise, to include sleep.

Scientists agree that to stay healthy and alert, it is important to get between seven and a half and eight hours of sleep a night.

Please keep the phone calls and emails coming to 1.800.346.1850 and customerservice@medslant.com. I love hearing from you.

A Good Night s Sleep is taking a break in August but we ll be back in September.



Back to Newsletters