Drugs known as proton-pump inhibitors including the popular Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexium have been linked to a serious loss of brain function and fluid build-up in the abdomen.
The connection between these drugs and their dangerous neurological and abdominal side effects was published in a study conducted by Dr. Gitte Dam and colleagues in the Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark and published in the August 2016 issue of Hepatology.
Researchers found PPIs may cause abdominal fluid buildup and hepatic encephalopathy (HE). HE is loss of brain function that occurs when the liver is unable to remove toxins form the blood.
“The findings that PPI use is a risk factor for [spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP)] and that SBP is a risk factor for HE do provide support for the hypothesis that PPIs contribute to the development of HE by promoting translocation of gut bacteria,” Dam and colleagues wrote.
An earlier study linked PPIs to an increase in the abdomen. That study was published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology in April 2015.
While PPIs such as Nexium, Prilosec, and Prevacid are prescribed to reduce acid reflux, there are serious side effects associated with these drugs beyond the new findings of loss of brain function and an increase in abdominal bacteria. Lawsuits have been filed in cases where patients suffered serious injuries such as kidney injuries and dementia after taking these drugs.
This new study only exacerbates the problems with these drugs and will undoubtedly lead to more injuries and more drug lawsuits against the manufacturers of Nexium, Prilosec, and Prevacid. These drugs are some of the most prescribed in the U.S., and Americans spend about $14 billion each year on the anti-acid medications. Drug company profits continue to rise and so does the number of injuries to innocent patients.
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