omeprazole (PRILOSEC)

• lansoprazole (PREVACID); omeprazole (PRILOSEC); pantoprazole (PROTONIX); rabeprazole (ACIPHEX)

• Combination Treatments for Helicobacter Pylori Infection [hide all summaries]
  The bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been implicated in causing ulcer disease. The combination treatments described have high success rates and low recurrence rates, but the treatment is arduous.
• Ulcers and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) [hide all summaries]
  There are nondrug treatments, with no safety concerns, and less expensive drugs that may be effective for GERD; these should be tried before you use any drugs for heartburn. First, try to avoid foods that trigger your condition (e.g., fatty foods, onions, caffeine, peppermint, and chocolate), and avoid alcohol, smoking, and tight clothing. Second, avoid food, and particularly alcohol, within two or three hours of bedtime. Third, elevate the head of the bed about six inches or sleep with extra pillows.

• Possible Increased Risk of Fractures With Long-Term, High-Dose Use of Heartburn Drugs [hide all summaries]
  (August 2010)
  The article reviews evidence that patients 50 years old or older who take proton pump inhibitors (PPIs -- a list of the six approved ones is in the article) or use them for a year or more may be at increased risk of fractures of the hip, wrist and spine. Since much of the use of these drugs is inappropriate and unnecessarily dangerous, the article discusses pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic alternatives to PPIs.
• Dexlansoprazole (KAPIDEX, DEXILANT): The Sixth Proton Pump Inhibitor for Heartburn [hide all summaries]
  (July 2010)
  This sixth drug for treating "heartburn" has no advantage for patients over older drugs such as PREVACID, generic name lansoprazole. Any advantage is for the industry because the manufacturer of DEXILANT charges three times more for this drug than the cost of generic lansoprazole, sold by another company and just as effective for patients.
• Smoke & Mirror Marketing (& Other Clever Big Pharma Tricks) [hide all summaries]
  (May 2010)
  The article reviews 12 prescription drugs, many of which are top-sellers, all of which are greatly overpriced in comparison to older "versions" of the same drugs. The patents on the old drugs expired so the "innovative" companies patented these new products, gaining a patent on them, and, for all practical purposes, using them as a license to print money. There is no evidence that any of the new ones are better than the now less-expensive, old versions.
• Antacid Drug Interactions [hide all summaries]
  (October 2009)
  Antacids can interact with a number of medications, either increasing or decreasing drug effect.
• Avoiding Overuse of Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) [hide all summaries]
  (March 2008)
  This article reviews evidence for the international epidemic of overuse of proton pump inhibitors (PPI), drugs used to treat ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). There were 70 million prescriptions filled in U.S. pharmacies in 2006 for the four leading PPI drugs: esomeprazole (NEXIUM), lansoprazole (PREVACID), pantoprazole (PROTONIX) and rabeprazole (ACIPHIX). Find out about several serious side effects of these drugs such as increased community-acquired pneumonia, increased hip fractures and acute kidney inflammation. Learn about alternatives to using PPIs.
• Over-The-Counter Omeprazole (PRILOSEC OTC) — There Are Better Choices For Heartburn [hide all summaries]
  (October 2003)
  You should try the non-pharmacologic interventions listed in the box below before trying antacids, histamine-2 blockers, or, as a last resort, proton pump inhibitors. If you classify yourself as a person with frequent heartburn, that is heartburn more than two days per week, and the interventions recommended above have failed, you should be under the care of a physician
• Selling New Drugs Using Smoke and Mirror (Images) [hide all summaries]
  (March 2003)
  You should avoid these "new" single mirror images of old drugs, not out of concern about their safety or effectiveness, but because they are the same as the old drugs. In the long run, they cause economic harm both to individuals and to the health care system because they have come on the market with extended monopoly protection. Article lists some examples.
• Grapefruit Juice and Drug Interactions [hide all summaries]
  (June 2002)
  Grapefruit juice can interact with a number of therapeutically important drugs that could lead to the possibility of toxicity. These drugs are listed in the article.

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