
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 23, 1995                   TAG: 9510240014
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO                                LENGTH: Medium

ARTHRITIS PATIENTS USING ANTACIDS MAY BE AT RISK

Using antacids to protect your stomach from the side effects of arthritis drugs may just mask the symptoms and therefore increase the risk of serious internal bleeding, according to two new studies.

The findings could affect an estimated 6 million Americans who routinely take antacids to prevent stomach discomfort while using arthritis drugs.

``There is a perception that antacids protect the stomach, but there is no evidence of that'' among the drug users, said Dr. Lee Simon of Harvard Medical School. ``They treat the symptoms, not the underlying problem.''

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been prescribed to 17 million Americans, chiefly to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Because these drugs also are one of the two leading causes of ulcers in the United States, a third of the people taking them also use antacids or anti-bleeding drugs called H2-blockers to protect their stomachs.

``Based on our analysis, it does not appear that antacids and H2-blockers provide any protection against serious, life-threatening complications,'' said Dr. Gurkipal Singh of Stanford University.

Singh's study of 1,921 recipients of the anti-arthritis drugs showed that patients given antacids and H2-blockers suffered 21/2 times more serious gastrointestinal complications than those given placebos - 3.7 percent, compared with 1.4 percent.

The figures were similar in Simon's study of 8,843 arthritis sufferers taking the drugs.

Simon emphasized that researchers don't believe the antacids or H2-blockers cause more bleeding - rather that they mask symptoms, causing patients to delay seeking treatment until the condition worsens.

Both studies were to be presented today at the American College of Rheumatology convention in San Francisco.

by CNB