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From: S. Carvajal, M.D.
Date: 05/15/00
Time: 23:54:58
PPI all work exactly the same. They poisen the protein in the lining of the stomach responsible for acid production. Each of the individual medications bind slightly differently to the proton pump protein but there appears to be no difference in there effecacy. Losec was the original name given to Prilosec but because it sounded like another more established medication, the name was changed. The FDA has only approved PPI's for 6 wks of therapy because of the increased risk of rare gastric cancers in rats. The cancers developed as a result of complete inhibition of acid production. All PPI's completely inhibit acid production and therefore have the same theorhetical risk. Although there have been thousands of patients who have taken PPI's for as long as 10 years, we have not seen a rise in number of these rare gastric cancers. Nobody knows whether we will see these cancers in the future. There is no good reason why certain patients report success with certain PPI's as compared to others.