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Biotech / Medical : QDEL - Quidel more quick diagnosis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Busse who wrote (1511)	9/29/1998 8:16:00 AM
From: jad	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1693

Stomach ulcers may recur despite treatment NEW YORK, Sep 28 (Reuters) -- About 20% of ulcer patients experienced a recurrence of their ulcer within 6 months of being successfully treated for infection with Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria associated with ulcers, according to a new study. ''Results of North American studies of highest methodological quality confirm that H. pylori eradication markedly decreases ulcer recurrence,'' report Dr. Loren Laine and his colleagues. ''Nevertheless, 20% of patients in these studies had ulcer recurrence within 6 months despite successful cure of infection and no reported use of NSAIDs.'' NSAIDs -- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs -- cause trauma to the lining of the stomach and are a known risk factor for ulcers. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacteria that physicians now recognize as the most common cause of peptic ulcer disease. While other studies have shown that recurrence decreases significantly when H. pylori-induced ulcers are successfully treated, the current study in the September issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology suggests that recurrence may happen more often than these studies have shown. The researchers, with the division of gastrointestinal and liver diseases at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles and the division of anti-infective drug products with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) attribute their finding to high levels of smoking and the possible unreported use of NSAIDs. According to the report, NSAID use is common among patients with certain types of ulcers despite the drugs' tendency to increase the risk of developing an ulcer. For the study, the researchers reviewed 15 years of treatment data, including abstracts from scientific meetings, published and unpublished studies, interviews with companies that manufacture medications for H. pylori therapy in the United States, and presentations to the FDA. Studies were double-blind, randomized North American trials of H. pylori therapy for intestinal ulcers. The team notes that ''the odds of developing a recurrent ulcer if H. pylori infection persists is five times greater than the odds of recurrence if H. pylori infection has been cured.'' The researchers conclude that patients with ulcers due to H. pylori ''will benefit greatly from antibacterial therapy, (but) a significant minority of patients fail to be cured of their ulcer disease despite eradication of H. pylori.'' SOURCE: American Journal of Gastroenterology 1998;93:1409-1415.