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| |  Health Care Network To Screen Americans For Ulcers Bacterium IRVING, Texas -- June 19, 1997 -- A nationwide satellite TV broadcast and screening to be held in August will help educate the estimated six million Americans suffering from peptic ulcer disease. Research shows that a bacterium, not stress, diet or lifestyle, causes most ulcers, and that, in many cases, these ulcers can be cured. Called "Ulcer Alert!", the program will include a 30-minute TV videoconference broadcast live to 450 hospitals on Aug. 12. Many of the hospitals will offer finger-stick blood tests to consumers to detect the presence of H. pylori, a bacterium that causes the vast majority of stomach and duodenal ulcers. There may be a small fee for the 10-minute finger-stick test. The live broadcast will be videotaped and distributed to an additional 1,000 hospitals. The hospitals and health systems participating in "Ulcer Alert!" are members of VHA Inc., a nationwide network of leading community-owned health care organizations and physicians. Consumers can get information on live broadcast sites and other hospitals participating in the program by calling 800-842-2291. The "Ulcer Alert!" satellite broadcast will be hosted by ABC News medical correspondent Nancy Snyderman, M.D. The program will feature David C. Metz, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and co-director of the GI Physiology Laboratory, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Barry Marshall, M.D., internal medicine research professor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. Marshall, whose research showed that the H. pylori bacterium causes 90 percent of duodenal ulcers, said, "Before we discovered H. pylori, excess stomach acid was thought to be the main cause of ulcers. Anything that raised the acid level, such as stress or spicy food, was believed to cause ulcers." Traditional treatment, primarily acid-blocking medications, can heal the ulcer, but Marshall's research showed that it’s not a cure. "A much better answer is to get rid of the infection caused by the bacteria. Then patients don’t need to continually take medications to keep the ulcer from coming back," Marshall said. Americans have spent almost $25 billion on antacid medications since 1992. Marshall’s 13-year investigation of ulcer disease causes and treatments was profiled in the June 9 issue of Fortune. During the "Ulcer Alert!" program, physician experts, scientists and patients will discuss diagnosis and treatment of ulcer disease caused by H. pylori. The presentation’s interactive community-forum format will enable viewers to pose questions to the panel. Throughout the VHA network, health care organizations will have an opportunity to locally host this community educational effort with their own physicians and internal medicine specialists. "Ulcer Alert!" is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill. Current treatment regimens for H. pylori eradication include Abbott’s antibiotic Biaxin(R) (clarithromycin), in combination with anti-secretory agents, including Astra Merck’s Prilosec(R) (omeprazole) or Glaxo Wellcome’s Tritec(R) (ranitidine bismuth citrate). About VHA VHA is a nationwide network of 1,500 leading community-owned health care organizations and physicians. The VHA network comprises 22 percent of the nation’s community hospitals and serves 26 percent of the nation’s patients. With offices in Irving, Texas, and 25 other locations throughout the country, VHA offers products and services in five categories -- supply chain management, learning networks and education, performance improvement, information technology and market share development.
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