Abstract
Biology incorporated into other disciplines is often distorted, alarmingly so in some areas of medicine. Together with other forms of bias, this may have detrimental effects for patients depending on medical research for their health. A case study concerning omeprazole (Losec), one of the acid-suppressive drugs against gastric ulcers, and NSAIDs, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, confirms that distorted biology together with biased health care policies foster disasters in current biomedicine and medical practice. In our country, The Netherlands, omeprazole is presumably the most commonly used medication. NSAIDs are also used in large quantities, increasingly since they have become available as analgesic over-the-counter drugs. Unofficial and official sources tend to inform the general public that the drugs promote human health. We argue that their being used on a massive scale is actually a medical disaster. The health of many patients would be served better if the drugs they take were replaced by proper forms of diet, but the pharmaceutical industry, the most potent force affecting medication policies, appears to prevent a shift in the balance from over-medicalization towards healthy life styles. The shift should come from government agencies responsible for regulation in the medication market. Policies of these agencies are now a dismal failure.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Abraham, J. (1995). Science, Politics and the Pharmaceutical Industry: Controversy and Bias in Drug Regulation. UCL Press, London.
Alexander, J.W. (1998). Immunonutrition: the role of omega-3 fatty acids. Nutrition 14: 627-633.
Ariza-Ariza, R., M. Mestanza-Peralta and M.H. Cardiel (1998). Omega-3 fatty acids in rheumatoid arthritis: an overview. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism 27: 366-370.
Barham, J.B., M.B. Edens, A.N. Fonteh, M.M. Johnson, L. Easter and F.H. Chilton (2000). Addition of eicosapentaenoic acid to gamma-linolenic acid-supplemented diets prevents serum arachidonic acid accumulation in humans. Journal of Nutrition 130: 1925-1931.
Bian, T.R. (1997). The Drug Lords; America's Pharmaceutical Cartel. No Barriers Publishing, Kalamazoo
Breggin, P. (1997). Brain Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry: Drugs, Electroshock, and the Role of the FDA. Springer, New York.
Calder, P.C. (1997). N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and cytokine production in health and disease. Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism. 41(4): 203-34.
Caplan, P.J. (1995). They Say You're Crazy: How the World's Most Powerful Psychiatrists Decide Who's Normal. Reading, Massachusettes: Addison-Wesley.
Chivian, E., M. McCally, H. Hu and A. Haines (1993). Critical Condition: Human Health and the Environment. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Cleland, L.G., C.L. Hill and M.J. James (1995). Diet and arthritis. Baillieres Clinical Rheumatology 9: 771-785.
Coste, J., C. Hanotin and E. Leutenegger (1995). Prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and risk of iatrogenic adverse effects: a survey of 1072 French general practitioners [French]. Therapie, 50: 265-270.
Cranor, C.F. (1992). Regulating Toxic Substances: A Philosophy of Science and the Law. Oxford University Press, New York.
Cummings, J.H. and S.A. Bingham (1998). Diet and the prevention of cancer. British Medical Journal 317: 1636-1640.
Dajani, E.Z. and M.J. Klamut (2000). Novel therapeutic approaches to gastric and duodenal ulcers: an update. Expert Opinions on Investigating Drugs 9: 1537-1544.
Dammann, H.G., M. Dreyer, P. Muller and B. Simon (1989). Rioprostil in the acute and long-term treatment of peptic ulcers: a review. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology 164: S207-S211; discussion 212–3.
Das, U.N. (1998). Hypothesis: cis-unsaturated fatty acids as potential anti-peptic ulcer drugs. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 58: 377-380.
DeLuca, P., D. Rothman and R.B. Zurier (1995). Marine and botanical lipids as immunomodulatory and therapeutic agents in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatic Diseases in the Clinics of North America, 21: 759-777.
Drago, L., B. Mombelli, G. Ciardo, E. De Vecchi and M.R. Gismondo (1999). Effects of three different fish oil formulations on Helicobacter pylori growth and viability: in vitro study. Journal of Chemotherapy 11: 207-210.
El-Bayoumy, K., F.-L. Chung, J. Richie, Jr., B.S. Reddy, L. Cohen, J. Weisburger and E.L. Wynder (1997). Dietary control of cancer. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 216: 211-223.
Elmstahl, S., U. Svensson and G. Berglund (1998). Fermented milk products are associated to ulcer disease. Results from a cross-sectional population study. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 52: 668-674.
Erasmus, U. (1995). Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill. Alive Books (third ed.), Burnaby.
Fanti, L., R. Ieri, G. Mezzi, P.A. Testoni, S. Passaretti and M. Guslandi (2001). Long-term follow-up and serologic assessment after triple therapy with omeprazole or lansoprazole of Helicobacter-associated duodenal ulcer. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 32: 45-48.
Faust, T., J.S. Redfern, E. Lee, and M. Feldman (1989). Effects of fish oil on gastric mucosal 6-keto-PGF1 alpha synthesis and ethanol-induced injury. American Journal of Physiology 257: G9-G13.
Fernandes, G. (1989). The influence of diet and environment. Current Opinion in Immunology, 2: 275-281.
Fisher, S., and R.P. Greenberg (1997). What are we to conclude about psychoactive drugs? Scanning the major findings. In: S. Fisher, and R.P. Greenberg (eds), From Placebo to Panacea: Putting Psychiatric Drugs to the Test. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 3-56.
Flockhart, D.A., Z. Desta and S.K. Mahal (2000). Selection of drugs to treat gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: the role of drug interactions. Clinical Pharmacokinetics 39: 295-309.
Garcia Rodriguez, L.A. and A. Ruigomez (1997). Gastric acid, acid-suppressing drugs, and bacterial gastroenteritis: how much of a risk? Epidemiology 8: 571-574.
Garrett, L. (1994). The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. Farr, Straus, and Giroux, New York.
Goenka, K., R. Kochhar, A. Chakrabarti, A. Kumar, O. Gupta, P. Talwar and S.K. Mehta (1996). Candida overgrowth after treatment of duodenal ulcer; a comparison of cimetidine, famotidine, and omeprazole. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 23: 7-10.
Goetsche, P.C. (1989). Methodology and overt and hidden bias in reports in 196 double-blind trials of nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs in rheumatoid arthritis. Controlled Clinical Trials 10: 31-56.
Gray, J.B. and A.M. Martinovic (1994). Eicosanoids and essential fatty acid modulation in chronic disease and the chronic fatigue syndrome. Medical Hypotheses 43: 31-42.
Griffin, M.R. (1998). Epidemiology of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-associated gastrointestinal injury. American Journal of Medicine 104: 23S-29S, 41S–42S.
Groen, A. (2001). NSAIDs in The Netherlands: The View of a General Practitioner. In: W.J. van der Steen and V.K.Y. Ho, Methods and Morals in the Life Sciences: A Guide for Analyzing and Writing Texts. Praeger, Westport. pp. 190-192.
Guzel, C., G. Ulak, A. Sermet, R. Cicek and M. Ulak (1995). Effect of fish oil on indometacin-induced gastric lesions in rats. Arzneimittelforschung 45: 1172-1173.
al-Harbi, M.M., M.W. Islam, O.A. al-Shabanah and N.M. al-Gharably (1995). Effect of acute administration of fish oil (omega-3 marine triglyceride) on gastric ulceration and secretion induced by various ulcerogenic and necrotizing agents in rats. Food Chemical Toxicology 33: 553-558.
Harbige L.S. (1996). Nutrition and immunity with emphasis on infection and autoimmune disease. Nutrition & Health 10: 285-312.
Hawkey, C.J. (2000a). Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug gastropathy. Gastroenterology 119: 521-535.
Hawkey, C.J. (2000b). What consideration should be given to Helicobacter pylori in treating nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ulcers? European Journal of Gastroenterological Hepatology 12: S17-S20.
Hernandez-Diaz, S. and L.A. Rodriguez (2000) Association between nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding/perforation: an overview of epidemiologic studies published in the 1990s. Archives of Internal Medicine 160: 2093-2099.
Hibbeln, J.R. and N. Salem, Jr. (1995). Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and depression: when cholesterol does not satisfy. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62: 1-9.
Horrocks, L.A. and Y.K. Yeo (1999). Health benefits of docosahexaenoic acid. Pharmacological Residues 40: 211-225.
Hughes, D.A. and A.C. Pinder (2000). N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibit the antigen-presenting function of human monocytes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 71: S357-S360.
Jaarin, K., M. Renuvathani, M.I. Nafeeza and M.T. Gapor (1999). Comparative effect of palm vitamin E and ranitidine on the healing of ethanol-induced gastric lesions in rats. International Journal of Experimental Pathology 80: 259-263
Jacobs, D.H. (1995). Psychiatric drugging: forty years of pseudo-science, self-interest, and indifference to harm. Journal of Mind and Behavior 16: 421-470.
Jacobs, D.H. (1999). A close and critical examination of how psychpharmacotherapy research is conducted. Journal of Mind and Behavior 20: 311-350.
Jain, A., S. Buddhiraja, B. Khurana, R. Singhal, D. Nair, P. Arora, P. Gangwal, S.K. Mishra, B. Uppal R. Gondal and P. Kar (1999). Risk factors for duodenal ulcer in north India. Tropical Gastroenterology 20: 36-39.
James, M.J. and L.G. Cleland (1997). Dietary n-3 fatty acids and therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism 27: 85-97.
James M.J., R.A. Gibson and L.G. Cleland (2000). Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and inflammatory mediator production. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 71: S343-S348.
Kowsari, B., S.K. Finnie, R.L. Carter, J. Love, P. Katz, S. Longley and R.S. Panush (1983). Assessment of the diet of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 82: 657-659.
Kremer, J.M. (1996). Effects of modulation of inflammatory and immune parameters in patients with rheumatic and inflammatory disease receiving dietary supplementation of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. Lipids 31: S243-S247.
Kremer, J.M. (2000). N-3 fatty acid supplements in rheumatoid arthritis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 71: S349-S351.
Kresiun, V.I., M.V. Iurlov, A.V. Tishchenko and N.N. Oleinik (1993). The stress-protective effect of a new derivative of n-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids [Russian]. Biulleten Eksperimentalnoi Biologii i Meditsiny 116: 274-277.
Laugharne, J.D.E., J.E. Mellor and M. Peet (1996). Fatty acids and schizophrenia. Lipids 31: S163-S165.
Mantzioris, E., L.G. Cleland, R.A. Gibson, M.A. Neumann, M. Demasi and M.J. James (2000). Biochemical effects of a diet containing foods enriched with n-3 fatty acids. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 72: 42-48.
McCloy, R.F., R. Arnold, K.D. Bardhan, D. Cattan, E. Klinkenberg-Knol P.N. Maton, R.H. Riddell, P. Sipponen and A. Walan (1995). Pathophysiological effects of long-term acid suppression in man. Digestive Diseases & Sciences 40: S96-S120.
Morgan, S.L., R.J. Hine, W.H. Vaughn and A. Brown (1993). Dietary intake and circulating vitamin levels of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with methotrexate. Arthritis Care Research 6: 4-10.
Nardino, R.J., R.J. Vender and P.N. Herbert (2000). Overuse of acid-suppressive therapy in hospitalized patients. American Journal of Gastroenterology 95: 3118-3122.
Nelkin, D. and L. Tancredi (1989). Dangerous Diagnostics: The Social Power of Biological Information. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London (second ed.).
Odeh, M. (1997). New insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Immunopathology 83: 103-116.
Ortiz, Z., Tugwell, P. and D. Youcum (1997). The design of clinical trials aimed at assessing the DC-ART properties of new molecules in rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 15: S39-S44.
Pincus, T. (1995). Assessment of long-term outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis. How choices of measures and study designs may lead to apparently different conclusions. Rheumatoid Diseases in the Clinics of North America 21: 619-654.
Pincus, T. and C.M. Stein (1997). Why randomized controlled clinical trials do not depict accurately long-term outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis: some explanations and suggestions for future studies. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 15: S27-S38.
Rostom, A., G. Wells, P. Tugwell, V. Welch, C. Dube and J. McGowan (2000). The prevention of chronic NSAID induced upper gastrointestinal toxicity: a Cochrane collaboration metaanalysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Rheumatology 27: 2203-2214.
Rothman, D., P. DeLuca and R.B. Zurier (1995). Botanical lipids: effects on inflammation, immune responses, and rheumatoid arthritis. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism 25: 87-96.
Reynaert, H., E. Fernandes, C. Bourgain, L. Smekens and G. Devis (1995). Proton-pump inhibition and gastric giardiasis: a causal or casual association? Journal of Gastroenterology 30: 775-778.
Saso, L., G. Valentini, M.L. Casini, E. Mattei, L. Braghiroli, G. Mazzanti, C. Panzironi, E. Grippa and B. Silvestrini (1999). Inhibition of protein denaturation by fatty acids, bile salts and other natural substances: a new hypothesis for the mechanism of action of fish oil in rheumatic diseases. Japanese Journal of Pharmacology 79: 89-99.
Schapira, M., M.E. Roquet, J. Henrion, J.M. Ghilain, J.M. Maisin and F. Heller (1996). Severe nontyphoidial salmonellosis probably in relation with omeprazole treatment: report of 2 cases. Acta Gastroenterologica Belgica 59: 168-169.
Schiff, M. (1997). Emerging treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. American Journal of Medicine 102: S11-S15.
Schwarz, A., P.H. Krause, U. Kunzendorf, F. Keller and A. Distler (2000). The outcome of acute interstitial nephritis: risk factors for the transition from acute to chronic interstitial nephritis. Clinical Nephrology 54: 179-190.
Sharpe, V.A. and A.I. Faden (1998). Medical Harm: Historical, Conceptual, and Ethical Dimensions of Iatrogenic Illness. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Simon, L.S. (1995). Actions and toxicity of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Current Opinion in Rheumatology 7: 159-166.
Simopoulos, A.P. (1999). Essential fatty acids in health and chronic disease. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 70: S560-S569.
Slomiany, B.L., J. Piotrowski and A. Slomiany (2000). Omeprazole fails to suppress up-regulation of gastric mucosal endothelin-converting enzyme-1 by Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide. Journal of Physiological Pharmacology 51: 421-431.
Sood, A., M. Sharma, N.P. Jain, L.S. Chawla and R. Kumar (1995). Esophageal candidiasis following omeprazole therapy: a report of two cases. Indian Journal of Gastroenterology 14: 71-72.
Stelfox, H.T., G. Chua, K. O'Rourke and A.S. Detsky (1998). Conflict of interest in the debate over calcium-channel antagonists. The New England Journal of Medicine 338: 101-110.
Stoll, A.L. (2001). The Omega-3 Connection. Simon and Schuster, New York.
Stoll, A.L., C.A. Locke, L.B. Marangell and W.E. Severus (1999). Omega-3 fatty acids and bipolar disorder: a review. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 60: 329-337.
Tamblyn, R., L. Berkson, W.D. Dauphinee, D. Gayton, R. Grad, A. Huang, L. Isaac, P. McLeod and L. Snell (1997). Unnecessary prescribing of NSAIDs and the management of NSAID-related gastropathy in medical practice. Annals of Internal Medicine 127: 429-438.
Teare, J.P., C. Spedding, M.W. Whitehead, S.M. Greenfield, S.J. Challacombe and R.P. Thompson (1995). Omeprazole and dry mouth. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology 30: 216-218.
Theisen, J., D. Nehra, D. Citron, J. Johansson, J.A. Hagen, P.F. Crookes, S.R. DcMeester, C.G. Bremner, T.R. DeMeester and J.H. Peters (2000). Suppression of gastric acid secretion in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease results in gastric bacterial overgrowth and deconjugation of bile acids. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery 4: 50-54.
Thompson, L., A. Cockayne and R.C. Spiller (1994). Inhibitory effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids on the growth of Helicobacter pylori: a possible explanation of the effect of diet on peptic ulceration. Gut 35: 1557-1561.
Tovey, F.I. and M. Hobsley (1998). Clarification of the link between polyunsaturated fatty acids and Helicobacter pylori-associated duodenal ulcer disease: a dietary intervention study. British Journal of Nutrition 80: 116-117.
Tovey, F.I., M. Hobsley (1999). Is Helicobacter pylori the primary cause of duodenal ulceration? Journal of Gastroenterological Hepatology 14: 1053-1056.
Ulak, G., R. Cicek, A. Sermet, C. Guzel, M. Ulak and O. Denli (1995). Protective effect of fish oil against stress-induced gastric injury in rats. Arzneimittelforschung 45: 1174-1175.
Van der Steen, W.J. (1998a). Forging links between philosophy, ethics, and the life sciences: A tale of disciplines and trenches. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 20: 233-248.
Van der Steen, W.J. (1998b). Bias in behavior genetics: An ecological perspective. Acta Biotheoretica 46: 369-377.
Van der Steen, W.J. (2000). Evolution as Natural History: A Philosophical Analysis. Greenwood, Westport.
Volker, D., P. Fitgerald, G. Major and M. Garg (2000). Efficacy of fish oil concentrate in the treatment of rheaumatoid arthritis. J. Rheumatology 27: 2343-2346
Waldum, H.L., J.S. Arnestad, E. Brenna, I. Eide and U. Syversen (1996). Marked increase in gastric acid secretory capacity after omeprazole treatment. Gut 39: 649-653.
Wolfe, M.M. (1996). NSAIDs and the gastrointestinal mucosa. Hospital Practice 31: 37-44, 47–48.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
van der Steen, W.J., Ho, V.K. Drugs Versus Diets: Disillusions with Dutch Health Care. Acta Biotheor 49, 125–140 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010240129648
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010240129648