Embargoed for Release Until: Sunday, October 11, 1998, 6:00 p.m. Contact: Dana Victor Montenegro 202/973-5871 or [email protected]
New Study Finds Hypnosis Can Eliminate GERD Symptoms
October 11, 1998, Boston, MA -- Hypnosis may help some patients overcome the pain of upright reflux, a form of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), according to a study presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). These are the first two cases in the literature of treatment of upright GERD with hypnosis. Given these promising findings, the researchers have already started a randomized clinical trial comparing standard medical therapy versus hypnosis for upright GERD.
Major Fernando Ramos, M.D. and his colleagues at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center reported two cases where patients have used hypnosis to practically eliminate their GERD symptoms. The patients, a 28 year-old female and a 44 year-old female, had been experiencing symptoms despite treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), prescription medicines used to treat GERD. Daily hypnosis has provided them with almost 100 percent improvement in symptoms. Each session of self-administered hypnosis is typically done 45 minutes before meals and after meals. One patient was able to discontinue treatment with PPIs within three months of hypnosis initiation. Researchers confirmed the effectiveness of the success by conducting a 24-hour pH score, measuring the degree of acid refluxed into the esophagus over 24-hours, before and after hypnosis.
Reflux occurs when the muscle valve at the lower end of the esophagus malfunctions, allowing a backward flow of acid from the stomach into the esophagus. A common symptom of GERD is heartburn. Without effective treatment, GERD can cause serious complications such as severe chest pain, esophageal stricture (a narrowing or obstruction of the esophagus), bleeding, asthma-like symptoms, or Barrett's esophagus.
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