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News and Features Related to Heartburn/GERD

Relieve Heartburn: 9 Hints for the Holidays

Nearly one in five Americans need frequent relief from heartburn. If you're among them, you're probably looking forward to the holidays with a mixture of anticipation and queasiness. The six weeks from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day often turn into a caloric free-for-all, and holiday menus are loade
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Heartburn Drugs Linked to Hip Fractures in Women

Jan. 31, 2012 -- Postmenopausal women with a history of smoking who take heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for two years or longer may be more likely to sustain a hip fracture. And the longer women take PPIs, the greater their risk. That said, the risk does disappear after women
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FDA Panel Backs New Device for Chronic Heartburn

Jan. 12, 2012 -- An implantable device to treat chronic, severe acid reflux disease has moved one step closer to approval. An FDA advisory committee unanimously voted that the LINX device was safe and effective for treating chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, that does not respond to m
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Study: Acid Reflux on the Rise

Dec. 22, 2011 -- Heartburn and other symptoms of acid reflux seem to be much more common than they were a decade ago. The prevalence of weekly heartburn and other symptoms of acid reflux rose nearly 50% over the last decade, according to one of the largest studies ever to examine the issue. The stud
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Are Acid Reflux Drugs Overused?

Nov. 7, 2011 (Washington, D.C.) -- Many people who take popular antacid pills like Aciphex, Dexilant, Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, and Protonix don't need them, according to a series of studies presented here at the American College of Gastroenterology's annual meeting. Doctors tend to overprescribe
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Men, Women May Experience Acid Reflux Differently

Oct. 18, 2011 -- Men and women experience symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux differently, a new study shows. The study is published in the Archives of Surgery. Researchers surveyed nearly 3,000 Australian adults living in the community and more than 2,000 men and women who were having surgery to
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Barrett's Esophagus May Be Less Risky Than Thought

Oct. 12, 2011 -- People with Barrett's esophagus, a complication of heartburn and acid reflux disease, are at risk of developing a deadly kind of cancer at much lower rates than doctors previously believed, a new study shows. The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers
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Some Acid Reflux Drugs Linked to C. diff

Sept. 21, 2011 (Chicago) -- The popular class of acid reflux medication that includes Aciphex, Dexilant, Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, and Protonix is associated with an increased risk of diarrhea caused by the bug Clostridium difficile (C. diff). Japanese researchers followed about 500 hospitalized p
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Heartburn, Reflux Seen in 9/11 Survivors

Sept. 7, 2011 -- Many people who were exposed to the dust cloud after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, may have developed lasting heartburn, indigestion, acid reflux, and other symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The new findings appear in the American Journal of Gastroenterolog
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New Genetic Clues to Esophageal Diseases

July 26, 2011 -- Researchers have discovered three genetic mutations that may play a role in the development of esophageal diseases, a study shows. The esophageal diseases that may be affected by the mutations include esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) -- a type of cancer of the esophagus -- and Barret
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