A common drug and diet options are being tested in medical research in Newcastle to treat bad indigestion.
Laureate Professor Nick Talley will present the findings at a conference in Newcastle on Sunday, featuring gut health and digestion experts.
Indigestion can cause pain and burning in the stomach, bloating, burping, nausea and an early feeling of fullness when eating.
Some patients with indigestion release "excess inflammatory mediators", said Professor Talley, of the Hunter Medical Research Institute.
"We are using simple over-the-counter antihistamines. It's a new approach."
He said blocking histamine can help relieve the symptoms, although more work was needed to prove this.
The research involves the concept of "drug repurposing", which seeks new uses for approved drugs.
Professor Talley, a world-leading neurogastroenterologist and John Hunter Hospital staff specialist, said the symptoms for bad indigestion can occur after people get gastroenteritis.
"Sometimes this comes on spontaneously and some people get pretty crook, where they get pain after they eat or get very full and uncomfortable, can't finish their meals properly and get nauseated," he said.
"It's pretty unpleasant and it's quite common actually."
The research has detected low-grade inflammation in the top part of the small intestine.
"We've been working on what that might be doing and what we can do about it," he said.
"We have some new treatment options we're using in our clinics and trying to test as well."
As well as using antihistamines, the researchers are also examining diet.
"Diet plays a big role in these conditions," he said.
"A lot of people get these symptoms after they eat. We think some of the foods they're eating are triggering the inflammation and immune system.
"So we're looking at that carefully and trying to work out what those diet factors are and whether we can change people's diets for the better."
Some wheat products, for example, can cause gut trouble for people. Other foods can also be a factor.
"We're doing elimination diet approaches to help people identify and get better and some people do very well with that approach," he said.
He said food interacts with the bacteria in the gut.
"There's lots of bacteria there. What you eat is what your bacteria eat too. And those bacteria also change when you get disease in the gut and sometimes elsewhere.
"If you change the diet, we think you can change the bacteria back to a better, more healthy bacteria. That can be very helpful too."
"We are using simple over-the-counter antihistamines. It's a new approach."
He said blocking histamine can help relieve the symptoms, although more work was needed to prove this.
The research involves the concept of "drug repurposing", which seeks new uses for approved drugs.
Professor Talley said the symptoms for bad indigestion can occur after people get gastroenteritis.
"Sometimes this comes on spontaneously and some people get pretty crook, where they get pain after they eat or get very full and uncomfortable, can't finish their meals properly and get nauseated," he said.
"It's pretty unpleasant and it's quite common actually. We've done work into what might be the explanation for this."
The research has detected low-grade inflammation in the top part of the small intestine.
"We've been working on what that might be doing and what we can do about it," he said.
"We have some new treatment options we're using in our clinics and trying to test as well."
As well as using antihistamines, the researchers are also examining diet.
"Diet plays a big role in these conditions," he said.
"A lot of people get these symptoms after they eat. We think some of the foods they're eating are triggering the inflammation and immune system.
"So we're looking at that carefully and trying to work out what those diet factors are and whether we can change people's diets for the better."
Some wheat products, for example, can cause gut trouble for people. Other foods can also be a factor.
"We're doing elimination diet approaches to help people identify and get better and some people do very well with that approach," he said.
He said food interacts with the bacteria in the gut.
"There's lots of bacteria there. What you eat is what your bacteria eat too. And those bacteria also change when you get disease in the gut and sometimes elsewhere.
"If you change the diet, we think you can change the bacteria back to a better, more healthy bacteria. That can be very helpful too."
To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald news app here.
