Gastroesophageal reflux disease (commonly referred to as GERD) occurs when the contents of the stomach back up into the esophagus. Since the esophagus doesn't have the same protective lining as the stomach, these acidic substances cause irritation and discomfort. Although this has nothing to do with the heart, it is frequently called heartburn because a burning sensation is felt just behind the...

OBJECTIVE To compare clinical, health-related quality of life (HRQL), and medical cost outcomes in patients with symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) receiving omeprazole sodium or ranitidine hydrochloride treatment. METHODS A multicenter, randomized, open-label, medical effectiveness trial conducted in 5 university-based family medicine clinics. Two hundred sixty-eight patients...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Sleep disturbances related to reflux symptoms have a significant impact on the daily lives of affected individuals. These analyses identified clinical factors related to resolution of reflux-related sleep disturbance in subjects treated with esomeprazole 20 mg for 14 days. METHODS Data from the first 14 days of 2 similar randomized, double-blind studies were pooled fo...

Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) plays a major role in pain processing and hypersensitivity. This study investigated whether PGE(2) levels are increased in the esophageal mucosa after acid infusion and whether increases in PGE(2) are associated with heartburn. Furthermore, expression of the PGE(2) receptor EP1 was investigated in human esophageal mucosa. Fourteen healthy male volunteers were randomi...

Background and objectives: Gastroesophageal reflux is a common chronic disease that impairs individuals’ quality of life, wherein patients should receive prolonged, and sometimes lifelong, treatment with chemical drugs, that in addition to high costs they can lead to side effects in the long term .Hawthorn fruit is one of the drugs used in traditional medicine to relieve reflux symptoms and to ...

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most common causes health care seeking at primary level in many countries. At an epidemiological level, GERD has been shown to be associated with a number risk factors: obesity, tobacco smoking, alcohol abuse, certain patterns eating behaviour, and use several medications. now regarded as heterogeneous includes different phenotypes (erosive d...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in Asian populations is reported to be lower than that in the West. Population-based data on the prevalence and symptom profile of GERD in developing Caucasian countries is lacking. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and clinical spectrum of GERD in Tehran, northern Iran and their associa...

Although symptoms arising from the esophagus such as heartburn and pain can at times become challenging clinical problems, esophageal viscerosensation, especially with regard to chemical stimulation in humans, is incompletely understood. Our aims were 1) to characterize and ascertain the reproducibility of cerebral cortical registration of heartburn and 2) to elucidate the differences between t...

BACKGROUND Recently, it has been suggested that low esophageal basal impedance may reflect impaired mucosal integrity and increased acid sensitivity. We aimed to compare baseline impedance levels in patients with heartburn and pathophysiological characteristics related to functional heartburn (FH) divided into two groups on the basis of symptom relief after proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). METH...

BACKGROUND Previous research suggests that females have a poorer outcome than do males after surgery for gastroesophageal reflux. OBJECTIVE To evaluate reflux and esophageal symptoms in males and females in a community sample and in patients undergoing antireflux surgery. DESIGN Face-to-face interview. SETTING A South Australian community. PARTICIPANTS Random sample of 2973 individuals ...