New study on cause of GERD

[mbeezie]

I think many of us here already knew this . . . .this is why my GERD disappeared after I did MRT and eliminated offending foods.

Mary Beth



DALLAS - Nov. 19, 2009 - Contrary to current thinking, a condition
called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) might not develop as a
direct result of acidic digestive juices burning the esophagus, UT
Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found in an animal study.

Rather, gastroesophageal reflux spurs the esophageal cells
to release chemicals called cytokines, which attract inflammatory cells
to the esophagus. It is those inflammatory cells, drawn to the esophagus
by cytokines, that cause the esophageal damage that is characteristic of
GERD. The condition is manifested by symptoms such as heartburn and
chest pain.

"Currently, we treat GERD by giving medications to prevent
the stomach from making acid," said Dr. Rhonda Souza, associate
professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and lead author of the
study appearing the November issue of Gastroenterology. "But if GERD is
really an immune-mediated injury, maybe we should create medications
that would prevent these cytokines from attracting inflammatory cells to
the esophagus and starting the injury in the first place."

In the study, researchers created GERD in rats by
connecting the duodenum to the esophagus. This operation allows stomach
acid and bile to enter the esophagus. Researchers were surprised to
learn that esophagitis didn't develop for a number of weeks after the
operation.

"That doesn't make sense if GERD is really the result of an
acid burn, as we all were taught in medical school," said Dr. Stuart
Spechler, professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior
author of the study. "Chemical injuries develop immediately. If you
spill battery acid on your hand, you don't have to wait a month to see
the damage."

About 40 percent of Americans suffer symptoms of GERD at
some point, and 20 percent on a weekly basis, Dr. Souza said. Over the
long term, GERD could eventually lead to esophageal cancer.

Previous studies had shown that if an animal esophagus is
perfused with highly concentrated acid, esophageal damage develops
quickly. In humans, however, the large majority of reflux episodes do
not contain such highly concentrated acid, Dr. Souza said.

"In animal models of reflux esophagitis designed to mimic
the human disease, researchers hadn't looked at the early events in the
development of esophageal injury," Dr. Souza noted. "Most of those
investigators have been interested in the long-term consequences of
GERD, and we found virtually no published data about what happens later
that induces gastroesophageal reflux."

Dr. Souza, who is also a staff physician at the Dallas
Veterans Affairs Medical Center and part of the Harold C. Simmons
Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern, and Dr. Spechler, chief
of gastroenterology at the Dallas VA, said the method they used to
produce GERD in rats is a reasonable representation of how GERD develops
in humans - acidic digestive juices from the stomach surge into the
esophagus.

Soon after the operation, they expected to see the death of
surface cells of the esophagus, and they expected to see the injury
progress later to the deeper layers. Instead, they found the opposite.
Three days after the surgery, there was no damage to surface cells, but
the researchers did find inflammatory cells in the deeper layers of the
esophagus. Those inflammatory cells didn't rise to the surface layer
until three weeks after the initial acid exposure.

The next step for researchers is to conduct additional
studies in humans.

Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study
included Dr. Xiaofang Huo, postdoctoral researcher in internal medicine;
Dr. Vivek Mittal, postgraduate trainee in internal medicine; Dr. Susanne
Carmack, postgraduate trainee in pathology: Dr. Huiying Zhang,
instructor of internal medicine; Dr. Robert Genta, clinical professor of
pathology and internal medicine; Dr. Kathy Hormi-Carver, assistant
professor of internal medicine; and Dr. Xi Zhang and Dr. Chunhua Yu,
both research associates in internal medicine.

[tex]

Mary Beth,

That's not surprising at all, and it's good to see that someone finally "stumbled across" the correct explanation. Doctors always seem to be anxious to treat symptoms, without bothering to figure out why the symptoms are there in the first place.

Thanks for posting that information,

Tex