OTC heartburn relief used in prevention of peptic ulcers

BEIJING A research team led by Satoshi Mochida from Japan addressed the incidence of low-dose aspirin-induced peptic ulcer in elderly individuals, concluding that the use of H2 receptor antagonists like Pepcid or proton pump inhibitors such as Prilosec OTC may help in reducing peptic ulcer associated with a low-dose aspirin therapy.

Their results indicated that H2RA therapy was effective for both the prevention and treatment of low-dose aspirin induced peptic ulcers, similar to the effects of PPIs, while cytoprotective anti-ulcer drugs were ineffective in preventing peptic ulcers.

The study was published on Feb. 14 edition of the World Journal of Gastroenterology.