ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2007) — A new study may explain why individuals treated for acid reflux with proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) still experience reflux symptoms.

Researchers from the Lynn Health Science Institute in Oklahoma City, OK, treated 15 individuals with significant complaints of heartburn, with either a PPI or with a placebo. After one week, all participants underwent monitoring and polysomnography, both of which were done after participants were given an acid-inducing meal to raise the baseline occurrence of reflux.

Researchers found that, while total reflux events and acid reflux events decreased considerably with PPI treatment, nonacidic reflux events, such as stomach bile regurgitation, were significantly greater with PPI treatment. Researchers suggest that this increase in nonacid reflux events may explain persistent symptoms in some patients, despite being treated with PPIs.

This study appears in the February issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

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