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Sleepless
Nights May Be Bad For Stomach
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Bad news for people with insomnia or those
who like to burn the midnight oil--you may be at increased risk
for ulcers, according to a report published in the current issue
of the journal Gut.
Researchers
in the UK have discovered that the protein TFF2, which aids in
stomach lining repair, mostly acts during the night when we sleep.
``The stomach
is continually susceptible to damage due to the intake of food,
which can be abrasive, or due to chemicals such as alcohol. The
lining is continually repaired, which prevents the establishment
of erosions or ulcers,'' lead author Dr. Felicity May, of the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne, told Reuters Health in an interview.
``It is known
that TFF2 is expressed at much higher levels in ulcerative conditions,
and it is thought that this facilitates the repair of the ulcer,''
she added.
In an effort
to determine if TFF2 follows the pattern of the body's natural
sleep-wake cycle--known as circadian rhythm--May and her colleagues
evaluated the concentrations of TFF2 in 12 volunteers aged 20
to 24 years.
The participants
had 12 samples of gastric juices collected from their stomachs
over a 24-hour period.
The researchers
found that the concentrations of TFF2 were generally low during
the day and dropped after food intake. Concentrations rose sharply
during inactivity and sleep.
``The key
finding is the dramatic circadian rhythm of gastric TFF2, which
suggests that repair processes may occur predominantly at night,''
May told Reuters Health.
Since the
primary function of TFF2 is thought to be the maintenance of the
lining of the stomach and its concentrations are highest at night,
May speculates that those who don't get adequate sleep may be
depriving their bodies of much needed down time for stomach lining
repair.
However, the
study did not attempt to prove that lack of sleep causes ulcers,
May stressed.
SOURCE:
Gut 2001;48:648-655
Reference
Source 89
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