Thank you for your interest in research about gastritis, a painful inflammation of the stomach lining, conducted by scientists in the University of Michigan Medical School. U-M scientists recently published two papers in scientific journals describing the results of recent experiments in laboratory mice. You may have seen stories about this recently in newspapers, on television or heard about it on the radio.

These studies involved laboratory mice, and it is too soon to know whether the results would be the same in humans. Also, none of the mice in the U-M studies were infected with H. pylori, a type of bacteria that is the most common cause of gastritis in people.

U-M scientists found that antibiotics were the best way to kill the bacteria that cause gastritis. They also found that prescription medications called proton pump inhibitors or PPIs, which block production of stomach acid, made mice more susceptible to bacterial invasion and gastritis. PPIs are marketed under several trade names, including Prilosec@, Prevacid@, Protonix@, Aciphex@ and Nexium@.

If you are taking one of these prescription medications to treat your gastritis or an ulcer, you may want to discuss this new research with your physician. But since these medicines are prescribed for many medical conditions, it is important to continue taking them, unless your physician tells you to stop.

You will find more information about this research on the University of Michigan Health System web site at www.med.umich.edu. Information also is available on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute web site at www.hhmi.org.

If you want to make an appointment with a specialist in gastroenterology at the U-M Health System, please call our patient referral line at 1-800-211-8181.

 

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