Certain illnesses can make people vomit so often that they damage their oesophagus with gastric acid. Now doctors have a better chance of stopping this (WO 03/037300).
The current treatment is to give sodium bicarbonate mixed with an alginate salt obtained from brown seaweed. The bicarbonate generates carbon dioxide that causes a scummy raft of alginate to float on top of the stomach contents. But it doesn鈥檛 always work. Research by the University of Strathclyde and drug giant AstraZeneca shows why: sugar and acid in the gut break up the alginate. Their answer is to mix a pectin 鈥� used in making jam 鈥� with alginic acid. Together, they make the raft viscous and elastic, creating a firm floating seal that keeps the food down.
