Word: stomachable
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Some days the arthritis pain would get so bad that Sylvia Zebroski, 51, of Stamford, Conn., couldn't sleep. Aspirin worked for a while, but then she developed stabbing pains in her stomach. She switched to naproxen, which, like aspirin, is a so-called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID. Same story. "I took myself off naproxen and went to my doctor in tears," she recalls. He put her on a new experimental drug, and this time, no arthritis pain--and no stomach pain. Says Zebroski: "It's made all the difference in the world...
...drugs work pretty much the way the old ones do. Aspirin and other NSAIDs block production of substances called prostaglandins, which are among the most versatile molecules in the body. Among other things, prostaglandins trigger uterine contractions during birth; generate a layer of mucus that protects the stomach from its acids; and cause blood particles called platelets to form clots--a mixed blessing, since the clots that help a wound heal can also lead to a heart attack...
...lowering prostaglandin levels. It does so by blocking an enzyme called cyclooxygenase, or COX, that's involved in the manufacture of prostaglandins. What scientists didn't know until the early 1990s, however, was that cyclooxygenase comes in at least two versions: COX-1, ultimately responsible for protecting the stomach and making platelets sticky; and COX-2, which triggers pain and inflammation. The obvious goal, at least as far as pain relief is concerned: develop a drug that blocks...
...inhibitors, unlike aspirin, have little or no effect on heart disease, since it's the COX-1 enzymes that cause blood clotting. But so far, no one knows how to block the COX-1 enzymes in the bloodstream without also affecting the ones that help protect the stomach...
...fireworks you experienced last weekend had more to do with the acid in your stomach than the starbursts overhead, you probably blamed it on that one last hot dog you ate before reaching for a bottle of Maalox or a package of Pepcid AC. Most of the time, these and other heartburn remedies are all that are necessary to settle your stomach. But if you suffer from regular bouts of acid indigestion, you may need more than just a drugstore fix; you could have a more serious condition called gastroesophageal reflux disorder, or GERD, which can severely damage the esophagus...