November 4th, 2010 by admin

You may not have heard of Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (ZES). It is a fairly rare condition. However, aside from diet and stress, Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome is among the more common causes of heartburn, acid reflux, and ulcers.

The condition is actually caused by tiny tumors called gastrinomas that are located in the pancreas and/or the duodenum. These tumors cause the stomach to have extra acid. The symptoms are similar to peptic ulcers:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Sudden weight loss
• Severe acid and gastroesophageal reflux

However, while gastrinomas could eventually cause a sufferer of ZES to develop peptic ulcers, the major risk involved is the tumors metastasizing and spreading throughout the body.

DIAGNOSIS

If a person suffers these symptoms, he or she-mainly 30 to 50 year old hes-will report them to a physician. That physician looks at the symptoms and, if he or she feels that it is necessary, measures the stomach acid and gastrin in the blood of the patient. If the measurements suggest it might be ZES, imaging tests such as OctreoScan, Angiography, Ultrasound, and CT Scan will be used to find tumors in the pancreas and duodenum. Read the rest of this entry »