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Scared of LPR, Dr. Koufman's research

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Posted 4/26/2011 1:49 AM (GMT 0)
i found this on Dr. Koufman's website and it's quite frightening to say the least

• In studies to date, the tissue-damage protein profiles for reflux laryngitis and for laryngeal **cancer are similar.

3. When different groups of patients are tested for reflux, including those with cough, sore throat, etc., the highest proportion of those demonstrating reflux are the cancer patients. In 1991, we reported abnormal reflux testing in 84 percent (21/25) of patients with laryngeal cancer, five of whom were lifetime non-smokers.

5. Our laboratory has examined the impact of reflux on a cellular level in human patients and in animal models and found tremendous similarities in the larynx between patients who have LPR and patients who have cancer. Of those studies, the most important was an analysis of biopsies for the presence of pepsin within the laryngeal tissue. Pepsin was found in 5 percent (1/20) of normal controls without reflux. On the other hand, 95 percent of LPR patients with reflux into the throat had pepsin in their laryngeal biopsy tissue, and 100 percent (5/5) of laryngeal cancer patients tested had pepsin within the cancerous tissue.39,47,55 In addition, extraordinary landmark experiments in cell biology by Nikki Johnston et al. 42,47,48,51.53,54,124 showed that pepsin up-regulates the genes that cause cancer in a way that suggests that pepsin is actually the cause of laryngeal cancer.
Posted 4/26/2011 3:10 AM (GMT 0)
pepsin seems to be the culprit and how to neutralize it is the challenge. ive been scouring the internet for supplements, drugs, medications, foods that can reverse or neutralize pepsin but so far little luck. i did get a hit for hexylresorcinol neutralizes pepsin but its not clear what this is or how its used
Posted 4/26/2011 3:18 AM (GMT 0)
1991 was a while ago, and 25 subjects isn't very many. I'd keep searching to see if the study was repeated on a larger scale.
Posted 4/26/2011 3:19 AM (GMT 0)
heres a time magazine article from 1937 that reports hexylresorcinol neutralizes pepsin...a doc was looking for a way to get insulin into the body via an oral route and needed to stop the action of hcl and pepsin first !

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,771009,00.htm
Posted 4/26/2011 3:28 AM (GMT 0)
ok this is rich. it seems that it is an ingredient in...throat lozenges
Posted 4/26/2011 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
hi mock, what are your LPR symptoms?
Posted 4/26/2011 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
hi neptunian

yeah its awful, i used to have just plain old gerd. several years ago i noticed that any time i would lay down or lean over id get the burn in the mid chest area. so i soon started sleeping with extra pillows ( i wasnt smart enuf back then to use a wedge or incline the bed) but a little more than a year ago i started inhaling reflux in the middle of the night so i started sleeping on a wedge and or inclining the entire bed about 10 inches. curiously the classic gerd symptoms diminished !! but, soon after that i went all out "silent gerd" as in, lpr though i didnt know it was called that at the time.

since then i feel like i got a marble caught in my throat just behind the voice box, most days its difficult swallowing which boosts my anxiety level up up and away. the back of my throat feels burnt and raspy.... feels like there is sand embedded in the surface. when i reflux one too many times my voice gets hoarse and it feels like i smoked two packs of cigarettes in a day (i quite smoking 20 years ago)

i got scoped recently and was informed there is barrets at the z line so now i worry more.

does any of this sound familiar?
Posted 4/26/2011 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lary.21165/full

This study shows no definite risk for laryngeal cancer as a result of having GERD. Could the study you refer to, which is old, just actually suggest that a high proportion of people with laryngeal cancer also have GERD, rather than vice versa. http://www.springerlink.com/content/v34n645252145454/
This 2nd ref suggests around 16% of patients with "pure LPR" will go on to develop Barretts.
http://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(09)01045-3/abstract
This 3rd ref says the risk of Barretts progressing to adenocarcinoma is low.
Personally I would not place too much emphasis on the old studies you refer to; if the findings have not been reproduced during the last 5 years or so then it has probably ceased to be of interest or concern, although of course it's not impossible for something to be overlooked.
Posted 4/26/2011 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
@mudmagnetmum this explains it better, dr. koufman's blog http://www.silent-reflux.com/2010/01/04/thirty-year-perspective-on-laryngopharyngeal-reflux-lpr-from-silence-to-omnipresence/ if they know all this stuff i wonder why havent they come up with a cure
Posted 4/26/2011 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
Yes they don't give clear causes or solutions for any of us! (I have GERD but none of the classical reasons for having it except for a tiny hernia). I wonder why your kind of reflux doesn't affect the oesophagus as well? Maybe there is some reason why the laryngeal tissue is vulnerable . . . and of course a reason why the pepsin escapes to start with.

Have you tried Rabeprazole ? It's mentioned in a study as being effective for LPR, although using ppis isn't agreed on it seems:
http://journals.lww.com/co-otolaryngology/Abstract/2009/06000/Laryngopharyngeal_reflux__current_concepts_and.3.aspx
When you search the papers very little appears for LPR and cancer and most of koufman's article refers to their own research. So I wouldn't panic as yet, not until there's more verification. Seems they are busy being at odds about defining the disease instead of fixing it!
I doubt I've been of any help but I will look at the article again if I get some time!
Posted 1/25/2012 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
I Googled a bunch and found that hexylresorcinol is available as S.T. 37 Antiseptic Solution. It's sold through Amazon and other online pharmacies & can be used as a mouthwash & gargle, as well as a topical antiseptic for cuts, scrapes, & burns.
Posted 1/26/2012 1:40 PM (GMT 0)
Dr. Koufman mentions pepsin in her diet book. One purpose of the two-week, more restrictive induction phase was to "wash down" the pepsins.
Posted 5/11/2012 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
Has anyone tried this hexylresorcinol S.T. 37 Antiseptic Solution?
Posted 5/11/2012 4:29 PM (GMT 0)
Is that some sort of mouthwash/gargle?
Posted 5/11/2012 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
yeah, someone on this thread said it may neutralize pepsin which could be a contributing factor to GERD and LPR according to Dr. Koufman. I don't want to go running to buy it yet because there are no reviews on amazon.com nor on this site (so far).
Posted 4/27/2014 7:06 AM (GMT 0)
It would be good to have statistics of people who are strictly following the induction diet for a concrete experiential proof of the "wash down" Any personal witnessing there of this? Also, any reliable pepsin testing in UK?
Posted 4/27/2014 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
Everyone should come to their own conclusion, but I give Koufmann's opinion only a bit more weight than I would to my dog if I had a dog and it had an opinion. I certainly don't think she gets a lot of respect in among the world's top GI doctors and specialists in esophageal cancer, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But in her case I think it is indicative of a lack of scientific rigor, and she is lucky enough to not have to convince those that believe in her of it in the same way she does the scientific community.

I once saw somewhere where she called an irregular z line "pre barretts". No other doctor I have ever spoken to know where the hell she came up with that and what the hell it means. It makes no sense.

She can sell her books and I hope her diet helps people, but I couldn't care less about her opinions on GERD myself.
Posted 4/27/2014 3:51 PM (GMT 0)
In case I left any ambiguity, I think she is analogous to the people on TV commercials warning of economic collapse and to buy as much gold as you can as fast as you can. Its funny how every other doctor I have communicated with (and as many of you may know, I have communicated with many over the years, including top specialists whose whole life is GERD and/or esophageal cancer), and its funny how they all take a calming tone to the topic of cancer. Even in severe cases, overall risk is low.

I remember a few years ago I bought Koufman's book and tried the diet. It didn't work for me, but maybe it works for others. If so, great. But if I were a GERD sufferer (as I am, and like she was before she herself got surgery for it), I wouldn't be hocking a book about a cure if I had one unless I was giving the book away for free. I'd feel pretty much sick to my stomach if I ever did.

The day I go to Kaufman for anything is the day I start buying gold from someone like Peter Schiff...
Posted 4/27/2014 5:58 PM (GMT 0)
Also, I would just like to add that I don't much care for Dr. Koufman...
Posted 4/28/2014 11:07 AM (GMT 0)
I would like to echo arm's opinion of the money grabbing Koufman......Koufman has NEVER offered anyone different treatment plans or pills different then any other GI doc.....sorry.

Yes, Koufman had surgery to address her reflux issues.....her book didn't fix it.

Posted 4/28/2014 12:52 PM (GMT 0)
I was a bit disappointed with her book too, considering the price. I have bought expensive books about medical conditions before that are expensive because they are very good, detailed and effective. Her book was quite short on explanation and was more a recipe book I found.

I bought a much cheaper book on the gut, for the public, by a UK author that has over 400 pages detailing every known condition or imagined and the common consensus on how to eat to heal it, which I found a much richer resource.
Posted 4/28/2014 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
Norm Robillard (sp?), the Fast Track for Heartburn diet author. Now he is good. I chatted with him a few times in Gmail. He always responds to people's comments. In my opinion, you can tell that he cares. And his book was quite good. It didn't work for me, but it wasn't a glorified cookbook with glossy pictures.
Posted 4/28/2014 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
arm is right on again. Fast track didn't completely work for me, however some of his ideas did make sense as I was able to benefit some of them.
Posted 4/29/2014 8:31 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with ARM and Dogbones. I believe that Koufmans book contains a lot of anxiety-inducing distortions. I followed her diet for over a year. My LPR symptoms subsided, but I still have GERD. Norm Robillards Fast Tract diet didn't cure me but reduced my symptoms so I could get off all meds but TUMS.
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