Yun-Han Wang[/caption]
Yun-Han Wang MSc
PhD student, Karolinska Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in children has increased substantially in recent years, concurrently with emerging concerns that these drugs may increase the risk of asthma. Whether PPI use in the broad pediatric population is associated with increased risk of asthma is not known.
Yun-Han Wang[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Yun-Han Wang, PhD Student
Karolinska Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use has been linked to increased risk of fracture in adults. Despite an increasing trend in prescription of PPIs in children, there is scarce evidence regarding this safety concern in pediatric patients.
Annelise Madison[/caption]
Annelise Madison
Lead author of the study
Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology
Ohio State
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Recently, there have been some reports of cognitive problems among those using proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Some breast cancer survivors use PPIs during and after treatment to manage gastrointestinal side effects of cancer treatment or to prevent damage to the gut lining.
We were interested in whether PPI use among breast cancer survivors related to cognitive problems. We conducted secondary analyses on data from three studies with breast cancer survivors. We found that breast cancer survivors taking PPIs reported cognitive problems that were between 20-29% worse than those reported by non-users.
Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly[/caption]
Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, FASN
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director of the Clinical Epidemiology Center
Chief of Research and Education
Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System
Saint Louis
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In 2017, we published a paper showing increased risk of death associated with Proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) use. Following the publication of that 2017 paper, several key stakeholders including patients, doctors, research scientists, medical media folks, mainstream media folks, and others asked us: what do these people die from? Did you study causes of death attributable to PPI use? In the study published today, we developed a causal inference framework to answer this question.
Dr. Souza[/caption]
Dr. Rhonda Souza, MD
Baylor University Medical Center
Center for Esophageal Research
Dallas, TX 75246
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a modern disorder of the esophagus caused by an allergy to certain foods. EoE causes esophageal symptoms like difficulty swallowing and heartburn and is diagnosed when biopsies of the esophagus taken during endoscopy show numerous eosinophils, which are a type of inflammatory blood cell. There are few established treatments for EoE.
One such treatment is a diet that eliminates the offending food allergens, and another is to use steroids to reduce the number of eosinophils in the esophagus. However, the most common treatment for adults with eosinophilic esophagitis is to use proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which block the proton pumps in stomach cells that make acid. In earlier studies, we found that PPIs also can block proton pumps in esophageal cells. Those proton pumps are activated by chemicals that the body produces in response to allergens including interleukin (IL)-13 or IL-4. Il-13 and IL-4, which cause the esophagus to produce eotaxin-3, a molecule that attracts eosinophils. What remained unknown, however, was the mechanism whereby these interleukins activate proton pumps in the EoE esophagus. In our present study, we explored whether IL-4 works by increasing calcium levels in esophageal cells from EoE patients.
Dr. Sahil Khanna[/caption]
Sahil Khanna, M.B.B.S. MS
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most common cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea and has recently shown increasing incidence especially in the community. Novel risk factors for CDI development include the use of gastric acid suppression medication, presence of systemic comorbid conditions, C difficile carriage in water and food sources, amongst others.
Gastric acid suppression medications such as proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine-2 receptor blockers (H2Bs) are commonly prescribed and consumed over the counter for gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease, or functional dyspepsia, but they are also sometimes prescribed for unnecessary indications, which leads to overuse of these medications. Recurrent CDI after a primary infection is a major problem, with the risk being as high as 50% to 60% after 3 or more Clostridium difficile infections. Data on the association between acid suppression and recurrent CDI are conflicting and therefore we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the association between the use of gastric acid suppression medications and the risk of recurrent CDI.
Dr. Ronnie Fass[/caption]
Dr. Ronnie Fass, MD
Professor, School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The endoscopic radiofrequency procedure (Stretta) has been used for more than a decade to treat patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Over time, there were several Meta-analyses with variable designs of the Stretta procedure providing conflicting results. Thus, the purpose of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the efficacy of the Stretta procedure using all currently available controlled and cohort studies.
John P. Cooke MD PhD
Chair, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
Director, Center for Cardiovascular Regeneration
Houston Methodist Research Institute
6670 Bertner St MS: R6-414, Houston, TX 77030
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: We discovered that the proton pump inhibitors PPIs), as a class, impair vascular relaxation. The PPIs have this effect by suppressing the activity of a key enzyme required for cardiovascular health. The enzyme is known as DDAH (for dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase). This enzyme is critical in clearing ADMA (asymmetric dimethylarginine) from tissues and the circulation. Because ADMA is an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, accumulation of ADMA impairs vascular relaxation and vascular homeostasis. Previously, we and others have found that, by inhibiting endothelium-derived nitric oxide, ADMA accelerates vascular disease in preclinical models. In humans, ADMA is linked to the severity of vascular disease, and is an independent risk factor for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Thus, the effect of PPIs to inhibit DDAH would be anticipated to impair cardiovascular health, and to increase the risk of MACE.