How could Estrogen cause GERD?

[aelephant]

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There are some observational studies that show Estrogen increases risk for GERD.

If it is true that Estrogen increases GERD, by what mechanism would it do so?

 

[farmadiazepine]

There's an observational study for everything

 

[meister]

Presumably it decreases lower esophageal sphincter tone.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/629338/?

 

[meister]

Humans are just like opossums

 

[aelephant]

Humans are just like opossums

Not even opossums, but "circular smooth muscle strips from the lower esophageal sphincter" of said marsupial.

Also, the abstract doesn't mention how much Estradiol they were using. Were these physiological doses or were they soaking strips of LES in vats of hormones?

Is Estradiol known to increase the effects of Gastrin & Acetylcholine in human LES or in any other tissues?

 

[PharmDstudent]

Humans are just like opossums

Opossums are so so cute! At night, we throw out strawberries and bananas to our "wild" opossums, and in the morning, we have fruit scattered around the yard. 😛 They prefer bananas.

 

[aelephant]

Opossums are so so cute! At night, we throw out strawberries and bananas to our "wild" opossums, and in the morning, we have fruit scattered around the yard. 😛 They prefer bananas.

Not nearly as cute as raccoons:

 

[Hello2000]

It's pretty elementary stuff in reducing sphincter tone. Look what happens in pregnant ladies when estrogen levels are high. They are blighted by heartburn 24/7.

 

[aelephant]

It's pretty elementary stuff in reducing sphincter tone. Look what happens in pregnant ladies when estrogen levels are high. They are blighted by heartburn 24/7.

Sounds like you are jumping straight to correlation equals causation, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

If I understand correctly, you're saying that because pregnant women have heartburn, this proves that Estrogen reduces LES tone? Could it be that there are other changes that occur during pregnancy that affect LES tone?

Granted this study was not in pregnant women, but it showed there was NO correlation between LES tone and Estrogen or Progesterone levels:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6468874

Plasma progesterone and estrogen concentrations were obtained and correlated with changes in esophageal pressures. The results were as follows: (a) unlike prior investigations, we found the menstrual cycle had no effect on lower esophageal sphincter pressure and (b) likewise, no change in esophageal contractions in the distal esophagus was found during the cycle. We concluded that changes in female sex hormone concentrations that characterize the menstrual cycle are not associated with changes in parameters of esophageal motor function.

I'm not saying this proves that you're wrong (obviously hormonal changes in Pregnancy are not the same as hormonal changes during the Menstrual cycle) but it does show that you've got to provide some positive evidence to make a case for what you're saying. So far what you've provided is not scientific evidence.