[admin]

Hi all you clever kids out there........

I had a recent conversation with a nurse that is a GI specialist. She told me that stomach ulcers are caused by excess stomach acid. When I was at Uni our professor who taught GI told us that yes the way to cure them is to reduce stomach acid (anti-biotics etc) but they are not caused by excess acid.

She also insisted that stress causes excess stomach acid, and that's what caused ulcers. I asked her how (as I always thought acid production involved the parasympathetic nervous system, histamine, and gastrin) so I couldn't see how the sympathetic nervous system had any effect in this process. The professor I have already mentioned also told us that stress contributes to ulcers, but from causing insufficient mucus to protect the lining from damage. Obviously there are other causes too, alcohol and NSAID's being two to mention.

Is what the professor said true, am I going mad, or is she correct?

Should I start a section in the forum for pharmacology, or is the clinical section enough?