Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

GERD

Increased gastric acid secretion as a possible cause of GERD

Many experts maintain that GERD is caused by dysfunction of the gastroesophageal barrier and that gastric acid secretion is not the primary underlying defect. By contrast, a recent study by Reimer and colleagues raises the possibility that increased gastric acid secretion is an important cause of GERD.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Gastric acid output measured at baseline and 15 days after stopping 8 weeks of treatment with omeprazole in healthy individuals not infected with Helicobacter pylori.

References

  1. Reimer, C., Søndergaard, B., Hilsted, L. & Bytzer, P. Proton-pump inhibitor therapy induces acid-related symptoms in healthy volunteers after withdrawal of therapy. Gastroenterology 137, 80–87 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. McColl, K. E. & Gillen, D. Evidence that proton-pump inhibitor therapy induces the symptoms it is used to treat. Gastroenterology 137, 20–22 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Gillen, D., Wirz, A. A., Ardill, J. E. & McColl, K. E. Rebound hypersecretion after omeprazole and its relation to on-treatment acid suppression and Helicobacter pylori status. Gastroenterology 116, 239–247 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gillen, D., Wirz, A. A. & McColl, K. E. Helicobacter pylori eradication releases prolonged increased acid secretion following omeprazole treatment. Gastroenterology 126, 980–988 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Hirschowitz, B. I. A critical analysis, with appropriate controls, of gastric acid and pepsin secretion in clinical esophagitis. Gastroenterology 101, 1149–1158 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Collen, M. J., Lewis, J. H. & Benjamin, S. B. Gastric acid hypersecretion in refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease. Gastroenterology 98, 654–661 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Collen, M. J. & Johnson, D. A. Correlation between basal acid output and daily ranitidine dose required for therapy in Barrett's esophagus. Dig. Dis. Sci. 37, 570–576 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Johansson, K. E., Ask, P., Boeryd, B., Fransson, S. G. & Tibbling, L. Oesophagitis, signs of reflux, and gastric acid secretion in patients with symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 21, 837–847 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Gardner, J. D., Sloan, S., Miner, P. B. Jr & Robinson, M. Meal-stimulated gastric acid secretion and integrated gastric acidity in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 17, 945–953 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hunfeld, N. G., Geus, W. P. & Kuipers, E. J. Systematic review: rebound acid hypersecretion after therapy with proton pump inhibitors. Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 25, 39–46 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author is President of Science for Organizations Inc., a company that provides consulting services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gardner, J. Increased gastric acid secretion as a possible cause of GERD. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 7, 125–126 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2009.240

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2009.240

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing